Featuring Dr. Jeffrey Norden, DDS

Duration: 3 minutes

While playing hockey you may experience a traumatic injury to your teeth.

A traumatic injury to the oral facial area that causes the loss of a tooth is considered a dental emergency, and it’s important that you know what to do in the event that happens. The first thing that you need to know is try to keep the person calm.

The second thing you should be doing is try to find the tooth. Make sure it’s not in the oral cavity, in case the person might swallow it or choke on it. When you do find it, please try to wash it off with some running cold water, but don’t rinse it off beyond five minutes.

Thirdly, when you do get that tooth cleaned off, try to see if you can place it back in the socket. If it goes back in the socket, try to have them bite on a handkerchief or maybe a towel to try to keep it more or less in place.

The last thing, of course, is try to get to a dentist as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence. Studies show that every minute beyond five minutes is a lesser chance of successfully replanting that tooth.

The quicker you can get there, the more success that we have of trying to keep that tooth in your mouth. If you find that you can not replant the tooth in its socket, the other alternative is try to find a storing medium. Most typically we use a glass of milk. Alternatively, if you’re near the house, you can try using contact lens cleaning solution.

Now, the last alternative is that we can always try to put the tooth in the mouth between the cheek and the upper molars. Please make sure that the person realizes that it’s there, and they must be very careful not to swallow it or choke on it.

Oftentimes, a traumatic injury that causes a loss of a tooth can cause more serious injuries to the oral facial area. If that’s the case, please contact your emergency physician or call 911.

If the tooth is injured but is still in the socket, the tooth may be displaced, meaning it will look crooked in relation to the other teeth. The most important thing there is try to get to a dentist as soon as possible. They’re the only people that can really help you at this point.

Presenter: Dr. Jeffrey Norden, General Dentist, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: General Dentist