Most forms of oral trauma carry significant pain and can lead to other complications. When an oral accident or a blow to the face knocks a tooth out of its socket, you will need to provide quality first aid while you seek professional attention at [practice_name].
The first thing to do is assess the severity of the damage. You can do this by gently rinsing your mouth with lukewarm saltwater. This will help wash away any lingering blood and debris to give you a better look at the damaged socket. At the same time, it might also help soothe some of the traumatized soft tissues in your mouth.
If you are experiencing significant pain, you can try gently rubbing oral analgesic on the surrounding gums. Try to avoid direct contact with the socket itself as this could cause further harm to the wounded tissues.
You might want to give the tooth a cursory visual inspection to see if it’s complexly whole. If the tooth was fractured at the gum line, if the tooth was damaged, or if some of the root remains in the socket, Dr. [doctor_name] will not be able to implant it back into your gums.
Sometimes there is enough tooth remaining that Dr. [doctor_name] can restore enough structure to anchor a dental crown by performing a root canal.
If the tooth and socket have been severely traumatized, Dr. [doctor_name] might advocate extracting the remnants of the tooth to promote healing. This will ease the pain and help prepare the gums for a future dental restoration via a dental bridge or dental implant.
If the tooth was knocked out cleanly from the socket and none of it remains in your gums, you will need to keep it alive for there to be any chance of implantation. The tooth can be kept alive by holding it between your cheek and gums. This should preserve it long enough to allow Dr. [doctor_name] to assess its viability and develop a treatment plan.
If you live in the [city], [state], area and you have suffered a knocked-out tooth, you should call [phone] to seek emergency treatment at [practice_name].
