How To Deal With Your Child’s Knocked Out Tooth

If your child loses a baby (or ‘temporary’) tooth before you expect it and there is no blood or trauma, there’s little need to do anything about it, as a permanent tooth will replace it.

But if a permanent tooth comes out, for any reason, that’s a dental emergency, and it needs to be responded to quickly.

Permanent teeth are most likely to be saved when replaced within 15 minutes to one hour.

So it’s critical to act coolly, quickly and pay attention to Bondi Dental’s guidelines below.

Most lost teeth in preschool and school-age kids are the result of falls, while dental injuries in older children are often the result of playing sports.

Why is an Avulsed Tooth a Serious Issue?

The loss of a tooth represents a serious dental emergency for a permanent tooth because it can lead to permanent loss and the need for a crown, implant, or denture.

A knocked out tooth has no blood flow, and consequently receives no oxygen. It will die quickly if not replaced in the socket.

The knocked out tooth will always need to be splinted to the other teeth at the dentist’s office, and often, but not always, need a root canal.

How quickly at tooth is re-implanted, how clean it is, and how hydrated it has been kept all play critical roles in whether or not re-implantation of the knocked out tooth is successful.

Treatment For A Knocked Out Tooth

• Remain calm and assure your child that you can help. This may be the most important thing you can do. Children look to adults for guidance, and if you remain calm, collected, and cool, it will help your child deal with their lost tooth.
• If there is bleeding, place a small piece of folded gauze or cloth on the site and instruct the child to hold it in place or bite down on it. The pressure applied helps stop the bleeding in the area.
• Offer the child chilled water or an ice pop to help reduce pain and swelling.
• Always handle the tooth by its top (the crown), not by the bottom (the root). Gently wash the tooth with milk (do not use tap water, which contains potentially damaging chlorine, or scrub the tooth, which may damage it) in a container that prevents its loss. Milk has a chemical makeup that is not damaging to teeth.
• If the tooth is a permanent one, place it back in your child’s mouth in its socket if he or she will cooperate. Do NOT attempt to replace a child’s temporary tooth, as that can damage the permanent tooth growing beneath the jawline. Push the knocked out tooth into the socket until it is level with the teeth on either side. Instruct your child to gently bite down on a gauze pad placed over the tooth – this will help keep it in place. Do this as quickly as possible – the longer a tooth stays out of the socket, the smaller the chance it can be re-implanted.
• If you cannot replace the tooth in its socket, place it in milk or inside your own mouth, where it can be bathed in saliva. Be very careful not to swallow the tooth accidentally. Another approach is to have your child spit into a cup then hold the tooth in the saliva on the way to the dentist’s office.
• Contact your Bondi dentist immediatelyfor further follow-up and care. We are experts in dental emergencies and treating children, and we always make time for dental emergencies such as knocked out teeth.
• If an injury to other teeth or the mouth is suspected, X-rays of the area may be necessary. Your Bondi Dental dentist will handle this, as well as recommend any additional dental treatment that might be needed.
• Acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be taken for discomfort. This is on a case-by-case basis.

Avoid Getting a Knocked Out Tooth

The best way to treat a knocked out tooth is to prevent it from happening. Here are our suggestions:

• Instruct your child not to not to run or walk with objects in their mouth.
• Instruct your child not to suck or chew on sharp, hard, or pointed objects.
• Give your child an athletic mouthguard for sports or athletics that can lead to injury.

At Bondi Dental, we are happy to talk with you about making a customised mouthguard to protect your child’s teeth when they play sports or athletics.

Mouthguards are rubber-like covers that fit over your teeth and protect you against a blow to the mouth.

Your Bondi Dental team can have one made for you by taking an impression of your teeth and sending it to a laboratory. The laboratory makes the mouthguard and customises it so that it fits your mouth exactly.

Mouthguards can be transparent or coloured – for example, in the colours of the team if you want to wear one while playing sports.

Our clinic is open for your dental emergencies 24 hours per day, seven days per week in our modern, comfortable, and professional dental centre. We are open from Mondays to Sundays, from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

The Bondi Dental Advantage

Bondi Dental has a convenient location in the Eastern Suburbs – Bondi Beach, Bondi in Sydney. Our outstanding dental professionals have more than six decades of combined experiences across all fields of dentistry.

We provide high-quality preventative, restorative, and cosmetic services for all patients in the area.

We have free parking behind our building, and we offer a FREE Dental Consultation including a complete dental check-up. We are your complete dental solution, for checkups all the way to knocked out teeth!

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Bulk Bill for children who are eligible for MEDICARE CHILD DENTAL BENEFIT SCHEDULE

Up to $1000 worth of dental treatments over two years

We offer free consultations for your dental concerns.

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If your child experiences any dental emergencies or requires immediate relief, call us on (02) 9365 7187 or book your appointment online. We are located at 134 Curlewis St in Bondi Beach.