Annually, around five million teeth are knocked out in the United States. And approximately $500 million is spent to address this type of dental emergency — which often results from sports-related, work-related and automobile accidents.
Knocked out or avulsed teeth that have been re-implanted within half an hour, according to experts, have the highest chance of success. So if you or someone you know got a tooth or a set of it that needs to be re-implanted, you shouldn’t waste any time before going to an emergency dentist Arlington.
Granted that you now realize how urgent this situation is, the question remains — how do you properly collect and transport such teeth? Read on to find out.
What Kind of Teeth Can Be Re-implanted
First and foremost, you should know that not all teeth can still be re-implanted; this dental procedure is only applicable to permanent teeth. If the avulsed teeth are baby teeth, you should not take the risk of re-implanting them as they might have already become infected. Another consequence is that by doing so, the eruption of the permanent teeth can also be affected.
What Makes Teeth Re-implantable
An emergency dentist Arlington is a specialist that treats several cases of dental injuries. But if it’s avulsion that is involved, one thing is crucially required for re-implantation to become successful, and that is keeping the affected periodontal ligament alive.
The periodontal ligament is the ligament that attaches the tooth to its surrounding bone. It’s also responsible for transporting nutrients to the tooth. When a tooth gets knocked out, this ligament splits into two — one that stays on the tooth’s socket wall, and another that stays on the root of the avulsed tooth.
It is vital to keep the ligament in the avulsed tooth alive until proper dental care is executed. Otherwise, re-implantation will fail.
Tips on Properly Collecting and Transporting Avulsed Teeth
The key in keeping the abovementioned ligament alive is by properly collecting and transporting the avulsed tooth or teeth to an emergency dentist Arlington. Here are some fool-proof tips on how to do so:
Locate the tooth and gently pick it up by its crown. To avoid damaging the ligament, never grab a knocked-out tooth by its root. Instead, gently pick it up by its crown or top-most part.
Never scrub or rub the tooth. Only if the tooth became dirty should you rinse it. Don’t scrub or rub it — simply rinse it a bowl of lukewarm water. Take note that this should be done for no more than 10 seconds.
Re-insert it on the socket and bite on a gauze pad. This is the best way to store the tooth properly, but if you or the patient is skeptical to do so, your next best option is to store it in milk.
Use sterile gauze to control bleeding. If bleeding is excessive, use sterile gauze or cloth to control it. If there are an accompanying pain and swelling, using cold compress is recommended. If the pain becomes unbearable, take over-the-counter painkillers.
Get help and alert your dentist. Give your dentist a call and explain the situation.
Whether you have intense dental pain, have knocked out teeth or are dealing with other dental emergencies, Arlington Dental Advanced Dental Care has an emergency dentist Arlington to help you.