The Basics of Caring for a Knocked-Out Tooth

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Dental emergencies in Durham, North Carolina, can be terrifying, especially if you don’t know what to do. But, our Bull City Smiles Cosmetic & Family Dentistry, Debora Bolton DDS team is happy to help you by explaining the ways to improve the situation when you’ve knocked out a permanent tooth.

If you’ve knocked out a tooth, we recommend doing the following things:

-Retrieve the tooth: Find the tooth and hold it by the crown, which is the portion of the tooth that was visible when it was still in your smile. Then, wash the tooth roots if they are dirty. When you wash them, please be gentle and do not scrub. Scrubbing will remove the tissue fragments that are necessary for restoration.

-Try to put the tooth back in place: If you can, put the tooth back into the socket. When you do so, make sure it’s facing the right way. If you can’t put it back into place, you can keep the tooth in a small container of milk or in a glass of water with a pinch of table salt. If you do not have milk or water, you can put the tooth in a product that contains cell growth medium.

-See your dentist: It’s very important that you see your dentist within 1 hour of your tooth being knocked out of place. This is the only way to save the tooth.

Call 919-381-5900 today and talk to Dr. Debora Bolton or a member of our team if you need additional help or if you have questions. We are more than happy to help you in any way we can, and we look forward to hearing from you!