Damaged or Broken Teeth
If your teeth or mouth get knocked, there are some simple measures you can take to help prevent further damage. Even if no damage is obvious, play it safe and book an appointment with your dentist as soon as you can.
Most importantly, don’t panic! Follow the steps below.
Cracked, Chipped or Broken Teeth
Keep any broken pieces If possible, find and keep any broken pieces of the tooth. Place rinsed pieces in milk or cling wrap (not water).
Take any broken pieces with you to your dentist.
Completely Knocked Out Teeth
Push adult tooth back in Only an adult tooth should be pushed back into position. Do not push a baby tooth back in! For a baby tooth, jump to step 2.
Keep moist For baby tooth or if unable to push back in, place rinsed tooth in milk or cling wrap (not water).
Take the tooth with you to your dentist.
Dislodged Crown
Losing a crown, temporary or permanent, is usually not a dental emergency. You should, however, call to book an appointment with your dentist as soon as you can and let them know what has happened.
If the crown has come off with no damage to it or the underlying tooth, your dentist may be able to reattach it.
If the crown has been lost, swallowed or damaged, a new one will need to be made and a temporary crown will be placed in the meantime
If you have lost a temporary crown and your appointment to have the permanent crown inserted is not too far away, it may be safe to leave the tooth as is until your appointment.
DO
Retrieve the dislodged crown if you can and keep it to take with you to your dentist.
Check to see whether there are any jagged edges on the remaining tooth structure that may cut into your tongue or cheek. Let your dentist know if this is the case.
Keep the area as clean as possible. Using warm, salty water to rinse is ideal.
DON’T
Use glue as temporary cement. This can be damaging and prevent the crown from being reattached properly.
Eat anything sticky or chewy on the side of your mouth where you have lost the crown
While most dental injuries do not require immediate attention, if you have sustained a traumatic injury after-hours you should seek medical assistance immediately.
If in doubt, call or leave us a message on (07) 3221 6427 as soon as possible and our team will be in touch to answer your questions and/or to provide you with the first available appointment with one of our dentists.