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Tooth Injury

Is this your child's symptom?

Injury to a tooth

Types of Tooth Injuries

Loosened Tooth. May bleed a little from the gums. Usually tightens up on its own.
Displaced Tooth. Usually pushed inward. Needs to be seen.
Chipped Tooth. Minor fracture with small corner of tooth missing tooth. The fracture goes to the dentin (yellow color), not the pulp (red color). Not painful. See dentist during office hours.
Fractured Tooth. The fracture goes down to the pulp. The pulp is where the blood supply and nerves to the tooth are located. The main finding is a red dot or bleeding in the center of the tooth. Very painful. Needs a root canal to save the tooth.
Knocked-Out Permanent Tooth. Also called an avulsed tooth. A dental emergency. Needs to be re-implanted within 2 hours.
Knocked-Out Baby Tooth. It cannot be re-implanted. See during dental office hours.

Symptoms

The main symptom is pain.
Minor bleeding from the gums may occur.

When to Call for Tooth Injury

When to Call for Tooth Injury
Self Care at Home Minor tooth injury

Self Care at Home

Minor tooth injury

Care Advice for Minor Dental Injuries

Cold for Pain:
- For pain, put a piece of ice or a popsicle on the injured gum.
- You can also use a cold pack on the cheek.
- Apply for 20 minutes.
Pain Medicine:
- To help with the pain, give an acetaminophen product (such as Tylenol).
- Another choice is an ibuprofen product (such as Advil).
- Use as needed.
Soft Diet:
- For any loose teeth, offer a soft diet.
- Avoid foods that need much chewing.
- You can go back to a normal diet after 3 days. By then, the tooth should be tightened up.
What to Expect:
- Tooth pain most often goes away in 2 or 3 days.
Call Your Dentist If:
- Pain becomes severe
- Cold fluids cause tooth pain
- Tooth turns a darker color
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse

And remember, contact your doctor if your child develops any of the 'Call Your Doctor' symptoms.

Disclaimer: this health information is for educational purposes only. You, the reader, assume full responsibility for how you choose to use it.

First Aid - Tooth - Transport in Saliva

It is very important to keep the tooth moist. Do not let it dry out. Transport the tooth in milk or saliva. These images show how to transport the tooth in saliva.

Saliva Transport Method 1: Put the tooth in the mouth inside the cheek. (Only fully alert adults should use this method.)
Saliva Transport Method 2: Put the tooth in a cup and keep tooth moist with saliva (spit).

First Aid - Tooth - Knocked Out

To save the tooth, it must be put back in the socket (reimplanted) as soon as possible. Two hours is the outer limit for survival. Right away is best.

Here are the steps for putting the tooth back in the socket:

Step 1: Rinse off the tooth with saliva or water. Do not scrub the tooth.
Step 2: Replace it in the socket facing the correct way. Press down on the tooth with your thumb until the crown is level with the adjacent tooth.
Step 3: Lastly, bite down on a wad of cloth to stabilize the tooth until the injured person can be seen by a dentist. If your dentist is not immediately available, then go to the emergency department.

If the tooth cannot be put back in its socket: Place the tooth in either milk or saliva to keep it from drying out, and go right away to the dentist. Again, If your dentist is not immediately available, then go to the emergency department.

Special Notes:

Even if you get the tooth back in the socket right away, only time will tell whether the tooth will live. It may not.
Baby teeth can't be re-implanted. (Give it to the Tooth Fairy!)

First Aid - Tooth - Transport in Milk

It is very important to keep the knocked out (avulsed) tooth moist. Do not let it dry out. Transport the tooth in milk or saliva. These images show how to transport the tooth in milk.

Milk Transport - Method 1 (best): Place tooth in a small plastic bag with some milk. Put plastic bag in a cup of ice.
Milk Transport - Method 2: Place tooth in a cup of cool milk.