“My Tooth Was Accidentally Knocked Out…What Should I Do???”

An athletic mouth guard is one of the most important pieces of sports equipment that you or your child will use. They protect the teeth, lips, tongue, and cheeks from injury. They also help prevent head, jaw and neck injuries.  In the last few years, most sport organizations have made the wearing of an athletic mouth guard mandatory.

Sports that require the use of a mouth guard include those that offer a risk of falling or of head contact with the equipment or bodies of other players.

There are different types of sports mouth guards available but the most comfortable and easily worn type is the custom-fitted mouth guard that you can have made at our dental office.  It is not only more comfortable than the “do-it-yourself” types that you boil to soften and fit but it is also more effective.

If you or your child does have a tooth knocked out, please make sure to follow these guidelines:

• Do not handle the root surface of the tooth (hold tooth by the crown).
• Do not scrape or brush the root surface as that may remove attached tissue fragments
• If the root is dirty, gently rinse in cold water, saline (contact lens solution), or milk for 10 seconds.  Do not scrub.
• If possible, gently insert and hold the tooth in its socket, facing the right way.  Hold the tooth in position.  Do not re-insert tooth if it is a baby (primary) tooth.
• If not possible to re-insert tooth, put the tooth in a cup or ziploc bag with one of the following solutions based on what is available.  The following is listed from most favorable to least favorable option: (1) Hanks Balanced Salt Solution; (2) Cold Milk; (3) Saline (contact lens solution); (4) Injured Person’s Saliva
• Please call us immediately and come to our office as quickly as possible.  The sooner we can treat the injury, the better the long-term results.

Please call our office today at 248.973.8788 to set up an appointment to have a custom-fitted athletic mouth guard made for you or your child.

 Source: Guidelines from the International Association of Dental Traumatology (IADT)

If you have any questions about this or any other dental issues, or would like to make an appointment for a dental exam, cleaning, or consultation, please give us a call at 248.973.8788. We are here for you!  At Caring Smiles Family Dentistry, we love sharing great dental health tips, contests, and special announcements on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Please join us on our journey of changing lives one smile at a time.