Dealing with dental injuries

Looking after your teeth also means protecting them from damage not related to dental disease. Although we do all we can to avoid them, accidents happen every day that result in damage to the mouth.  

Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) affect any age group, although young children are particularly prone. One day they can suddenly move faster or travel further or climb higher than they could a day before. When a child experiences a TDI, it is distressing for the parent or carer, who will worry about long-term aesthetic or functional consequences, or the cost of fixing it. Immature permanent teeth have “considerable capacity for healing” after luxation injury, traumatic pulp exposure or root fracture. But even an avulsed mature tooth can have a good prognosis when there is prompt action.  

Dental Trauma UK is a charity set up to promote the best way to save teeth that have been injured, damaged or knocked out. The first piece of advice it gives to patients is, “don’t panic”. For adults, the ideal scenario is to pick the tooth up by the crown, rinse it, then put it back in position, biting into a tissue to keep it in place before contacting a dentist as an emergency. If no emergency appointment is available, they should call 111 (Dental Trauma UK recommends going to A&E if dental care cannot be accessed). If a tooth cannot be replanted, put it in milk before contacting the dentist. If it’s a ‘baby’ tooth, there should be no attempt to reinsert it. For a chipped, broken or cracked tooth, if the fragment has not been lost, it should be cleaned and placed in milk and taken to the dentist. As well as educating them about what to do – ensure the whole team knows the protocol – patients should understand that the practice will deliver a clinical diagnosis and tailored treatment planning, including follow-up, to support a positive outcome.