Life is full of surprises, and some of them are bad: a traumatic tooth injury, for example. It can happen on the playground or at work, it can happen in the car, it can happen around the house, or at a place that might surprise you. But a tooth injury should be seen right away by a specialist, like the team at Cascade Endodontics in Orem.
Most tooth injuries are minor, although if it happens to you or your child, it won’t seem that way. The most common tooth injuries we see are chipped teeth, often the result of impact from an accident or sports injury.
It’s less common for a tooth to be completely knocked out. But it does happen, and these injuries are more severe, and should be examined by a dentist or endodontist right away.
There is also a very good chance that you won’t have any idea how severe the injury is. Even if you can see some damage to a tooth, there may be additional damage to a neighboring tooth that you won’t notice. That makes it all the more important to come to us as soon as possible.
An injury to the mouth can cause one or more of your teeth to be pushed out of position. We can usually reposition the tooth, and stabilize it. Even so, additional treatment such as a root canal may be necessary.
A tooth may also be pushed partly out of the its socket. It can usually be repositioned. We’ll need to examine it to see whether the pulp is still healthy. If it is, no additional treatment may be necessary.
In more serious cases, a tooth may be knocked completely out. This is known as an avulsed tooth. This is a very serious matter, and we should see you immediately. If it happens to you, or someone in your care, it’s important to keep a cool head. Keep the tooth moist. You can try to put it back in its socket. If not, put it in water, or in milk if it’s convenient. Alternately, you can keep it under the tongue as you hurry to our office.
If this happens, a root canal may be necessary. In children with primary teeth, special treatments are available.
At Cascade Endodontics in Orem, we treat tooth injury all the time, and ours services include emergency dental care and toothache relief. Schedul an appointment with us today.
Jon Jenson DDS
Cascade Endodontics
1375 E 800 N Ste 203
Orem, UT 84097
801-404-5810