What To Do If Your Tooth Gets Knocked Out While Playing Sports

When you play contact sports, you need to do all you can to protect your teeth, and you also want to be sure you are prepared for a dental emergency. You should make sure you always wear your mouth guard when you play. However, accidents can still happen and when they do, you want to make sure you're prepared to deal with them properly. If you knock your tooth out, you want to follow the tips below:

Put the tooth back in place

When you knock your tooth out, it's very important for you to put it back in as quickly as you possibly can. Find the tooth right away, pick it up and rinse it off with your own saliva. Once you have cleaned it, you want to put it back in place and put a good sized piece of gauze on it. Bite down with a good amount of pressure while you make your way to a dentist.

If you aren't able to put it back in the socket, then you want to be sure you hold it in your mouth until you get to the dentist. Your tooth's root needs to be in your saliva in order to survive the journey. Otherwise, it will dry out and the dentist won't be able to put it back in place.

Don't do the wrong things

You want to be sure you don't make mistakes that can cost you your tooth. Never pick your tooth up and wash it with anything like alcohol or peroxide. Many people make the mistake of thinking this is the best thing to do since this is how you clean your wounds. However, washing your tooth in this manner will harm the root, causing it to die.

You want to make sure you pick your tooth up without touching the root. The root of your tooth is very sensitive and susceptible to damage. You also want to make sure you don't touch the root with anything when trying to clean dirt off of it.

Stay comfortable

You want to make sure you take an over the counter pain reliever quickly, so you can avoid all the pain you can. You should also get a cold pack and put it against your cheek, right in the area where your tooth was knocked out. This will help with both pain and swelling. Go to the nearest available dentist you can find, as getting the tooth back in place right away is crucial.

For more advice about what to do in a dental emergency like this, visit a website like http://www.lakeside-dentistry.com.


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