Contact and sometimes non-contact sports can often lead to Dental Emergencies and generally involve the front teeth. Dental Emergencies can involve a chipped tooth or a tooth that has been “knocked out”, commonly known as an avulsed tooth. Avulsed teeth are one of the most serious dental emergencies for permanent (adult) teeth. However, the damage can be fixed. If you act quickly, there’s a good chance the tooth can be saved. When a permanent tooth is avulsed, there is an excellent chance that the tooth will survive if the tooth is immediately placed back into the tooth socket and dental advice is sought. Every minute the tooth is out of the socket, the less chance it has of surviving.

Dental Health Services Victoria offers the following
step-by-step guidelines if a tooth is knocked-out: 

• If the knocked-out tooth is dirty, gently rinse it with milk without touching the root and follow the steps below. Do not scrub the tooth!
• Stay calm and act quickly.
• Locate the tooth and hold it by the crown (smooth white part), see our diagram for the tooth structure!
• If the root has dirt on it, gently rinse the tooth in milk or saline solution such as contact lens solution for a few seconds only – do not use water or scrub.
• If the person is conscious, hold the cleaned tooth by the crown and replace it into its socket using light pressure.
Hold the tooth in place by getting the person to gently bite on a handkerchief.

Seek immediate advice from an oral health professional.

Make an appointment with your local dentist, or call us on 03 9372 8960
or for Public Dental Emergency Care call 1300 360 054.
If this is a dental emergency, please click here for our DENTAL EMERGENCY INFORMATION PAGE

OUR STEP BY STEP TIPS IF A TOOTH IS KNOCKED OUT:

1. STAY CALM, locate the tooth and act quickly!

2. Gently rinse the tooth if the tooth is dirty in milk or saline.

3. Attempt to reinsert the tooth (Adult Teeth Only – DO NOT TRY AND REPLANT A BABY TOOTH)

4. Hold the tooth in place using light pressure.

5. Seek Immediate Dental Care. The sooner the tooth is seen by a dentist, the better the chances of saving it.

OUR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS!

DO NOT TRY TO REPLANT A BABY TOOTH!
Replanting baby teeth can damage the adult tooth sitting underneath the primary tooth socket and may also delay dental exfoliation.
See a dental professional as soon as possible.

Clean the area by rinsing the mouth with warm water. Use an ice pack wrapped in a clean towel or a cold compress on the face if needed to reduce swelling. If the tooth fragment is broken and is intact, store it in milk or saliva. See a dental professional as soon as possible.

Make an appointment immediately with your local dentist (Kiddies Dental Care (03) 9372 8960) or for Public Dental Emergency Care call: 1300 360 054.

If this is a Dental Emergency, click here for our Dental Emergency Information.

USEFUL DENTAL RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING

For further information on what to do please take some time to read over these links:

https://www.dhsv.org.au/our-services/dental/emergency-dental-care

https://www.rdhm.org.au/oral-health-advice/teeth-tips/knocked-out-teeth

https://www.rdhm.org.au/oral-health-advice/teeth-tips/mouthguards

Thanks to our wonderful Oral Health Team at Werribee
If you would like to talk to either Kay, Sam or any of our amazing team, about this or any other questions you may have, please contact us on 03 9372 8960.