What to Do If Your Tooth Gets Knocked Out During Sports

Having a tooth knocked out while playing sports can be a very painful experience. Fortunately, the tooth can still be saved if you act quickly and don’t panic.

What to do if your tooth gets knocked out during sports

Locate the tooth

The first thing you want to do if you lose a tooth during sports is to locate the tooth. Since there will be other people standing around on the field or wherever you are playing, have them stand back so they don’t accidentally step on the tooth.

Pick up the tooth

Once you find the tooth you need to pick it up by the chewing surface or crown and avoid touching the root, which is the part that goes into your gums. Touching the root will damage it and make it difficult to attach.

Clean the tooth

To prevent the tooth from getting infected, you should clean it soon after picking it up. Dentists recommend cleaning the tooth with whole milk, but if you do not have milk readily available, using water is fine.

After cleaning the tooth, do not wipe it off with a washcloth or any other fabric because it could damage the tooth.

Keep the tooth moist

If you want to save the tooth, you have to make sure you keep it moist after you have cleaned it up. The best way to do this is to put it in a cup containing milk or water. If you do not have access to either, you can put the tooth between your cheek and gum to keep it moist. If it is a child that had their tooth knocked out, do not tell them to put the tooth in their mouth because they could end up swallowing it. Tell the child to spit into a cup and put the tooth in the cup.

Try reinserting the tooth

In some cases, you can put a knocked out tooth back into place, holding it there until you can see your dentist. If you try to slip it back into your mouth and it does not stay in place, just put it back in the cup and save it for the dentist.

Go see your dentist

Once you have recovered the tooth, cleaned it and kept it moist, your next step is to go see your dentist. Since this is an emergency, an appointment is not needed, but you might have to sit around for a while if your dentist is busy when you get there.

Can a dentist save the tooth?

When it comes to saving knocked out teeth, dentists have had more success with children than adults. Depending on how the tooth broke off. If it was a clean break, your dentist can flush debris from the pocket and slip the tooth back into place. If it was a bad break, the dentist will likely have to perform a root canal to fix the tooth.

Conclusion

Having your tooth knocked out while playing sports happens very often, which means there is no reason to panic. If you follow these simple steps, you might be able to save the tooth.

Request an appointment here: https://www.nampaidahodentist.com or call Modern Smiles Nampa at (208) 656-6070 for an appointment in our Nampa office.

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