Saving a knocked out tooth

It is always heart wrenching when a child or an adult comes into the clinic with their front tooth in their hand completely intact a day after the accident and the tooth is as clean as ever. You not only feel pain for the loss of the tooth but more so for the fact that the tooth could have been saved if someone around had known what to do.{{more}}

When a child or an adult knocks out their adult front tooth, whether by a fall or a blow to the face, the tooth needs to be found immediately and gently washed off (not scrubbed), so as to remove the dirt but not the blood.

Once this has been done, place it in either a container of milk or salt water, or if possible, in the mouth under the tongue or back into the socket and then immediately go to a dental clinic or Accident & Emergency Department. This needs to be done within six hours after the incident for the tooth to be re-implanted. So keep your head on and act quickly, it can save a tooth.