FAMILY HEALTH CARE +

Your complete online medical source

Navigate by theme:

Web	familyhealthhandbook.com

Return to index

First Aid and Emergencies

Accidental Tooth Loss

Home Treatment - When to Call a Health Professional

If a permanent tooth is knocked out, a dentist may be able to reimplant it. Baby teeth need to come out anyway, so they are not usually reimplanted.

A chipped tooth can be repaired. A blow that was hard enough to chip a tooth may have moved several teeth out of alignment or broken the portion of bone that holds the tooth in place.

Home Treatment

Top of Page

Call your dentist immediately for an emergency visit. Reimplanting a tooth works best when it is done within 30 minutes. After 2 hours, it is unlikely the procedure will be successful.
Clean the tooth gently and place it back in the socket, between the gum and cheek (use care not to swallow the tooth), or in a small container of milk. Do not transport the tooth in tap water.

When to Call a Health Professional

Top of Page

If a permanent tooth is knocked out or chipped.
If a baby tooth is knocked out, schedule an appointment within 2 weeks to determine if a spacer is needed until a permanent tooth comes in.

Top of Page