Let’s say you’re playing a nice game of touch football with your friends but the big guy on the other team doesn’t quite get the “touch” part and accidentally hits you hard enough to knock out a tooth. Do you just keep going, thinking that a missing tooth just make you look tough?
Put that smile back together when you lose a tooth.
Probably not. What you should do is take steps to get it back in your mouth where it belongs. If you want to look tough buy a motorcycle.
If you lose a tooth it’s critical to keep the ligament that trails off the end of the tooth moist. Be sure and handle it by the top and not by the roots to preserve as much as possible. You may have heard long ago to keep a lost tooth in milk. This isn’t exactly true. Milk does have neutral pH but it’s not the only option. Water can work but ideally a saline solution is the best environment, Just get any dirt or debris off as soon as you can. Don’t rub or scrape it just rinse off as best you can.
If at all possible try and insert the tooth back into your mouth and apply pressure to make it fit, bite down on something soft to reduce direct contact. If this won’t work you can try and place it in between your cheek and gum to keep it moist and protected.
The next step is getting yourself and your tooth to a dentist or emergency room asap. It’s critical to get wherever you’re going within an hour if it’s going to be placed back in correctly and stay where it’s supposed to be.
A tooth that just can’t be re-implanted needs to be replaced by a dental implant. When a tooth is missing the bone that supported it will begin to resorb or shrink. This can lead to serious consequences such a compromised facial structure, lost lip support, increased wrinkles and more. The opposing teeth will also feel the effect and attempt to compensate for the missing tooth and may even drop down or shift to fill the open space.
If you’ve lost a tooth and need re-implantation or dental implants head over to Wagner Oral Surgery. We specialize in tooth replacement and we can get your smile back in order. You may want to refer any other friends who find themselves in a game with that same big guy as well. Or maybe just take up ping pong.