Dental Emergencies
First Aid For Tooth Loss
If a tooth is loose or even extremely loose, but is still attached in any way, leave it alone. Do not remove it.
If a tooth is out of its socket and completely unattached, but still in the mouth, leave it there and have the person cradle it in his/her mouth until he/she can see Dr. Alleman and attempt reimplantation.
If the tooth is out of the mouth, do not let it dry out, handle it as little as possible. Do not attempt to clean, scrub or disinfect the tooth, or remove any of the tissue attached to it. Get help immediately!
If the tooth is recovered from the ground or other soiled area, rinse it off with lukewarm water. Preserve the tooth in lukewarm milk, if possible, or lukewarm water until Dr. Alleman can examine it.
Time out of the socket is critical to the long term success of tooth reimplantation. Success rates decline after 30 minutes, however successful results have been reported after several hours, so the attempt can still be made even if the tooth has been out for some time.
If the root is solid, but the tooth is fractured or broken and you can find the broken piece, save it in something to keep it moist and bring it with you. The broken piece can often be bonded back in place almost as good as new!
