5 Steps to Take Right Away After a Tooth Gets Knocked Out

Once your permanent teeth come in, they’re designed to go the distance and serve you well for years to come. Unfortunately, life can have other plans. Accidents happen and teeth can get knocked out — a lot of teeth if you consider that about 5 million teeth are knocked out in kids and adults in the United States each year.

While it might seem like the end of the road for that tooth, that’s not necessarily the case. Sometimes, we can reinsert and save a knocked-out tooth, but only if you follow certain steps.

To provide you with the best chances for saving a tooth that’s been knocked out, our team of dental health experts at LaSante Health Center in Brooklyn, New York, wants to cover a few key steps that you should take right away. 

As part of our emergency dentistry services, we’ve dealt with a lot of knocked-out teeth. Here’s how you can increase your chances of saving the tooth.

Rinse and evaluate

Immediately after the tooth is knocked out, we want you to make sure that you or your loved one is OK. You can expect some blood when you lose a tooth, so gently rinse your mouth with water to better evaluate the damage.

Find the tooth

Once you confirm that the missing tooth (or teeth) is the only issue, try to find the tooth. If it’s in one piece, pick it up by the crown only, as any handling of the root area can damage the tooth and prevent reintegration. Rinse the tooth gently with water to remove any debris or blood.

Storing your tooth

After you locate and clean the tooth, try to insert it back into the socket in your jaw. If it slides into place easily, hold it there by biting down on something soft as you make your way to our urgent care. You can use a piece of folded-up gauze, a teabag, or a mouthguard or aligner if one's available.

If the tooth doesn't go back into the socket easily, don’t force it. Instead, store the tooth between your cheek and gum where it can thrive in saliva, or place it in a glass of milk.

Don’t reinsert baby teeth

If your child’s tooth is knocked out and it’s a primary or baby tooth, don’t try to reinsert it. If you do, you could damage the emerging adult tooth underneath. Instead, just store the tooth and come see us so we can keep your child’s dental health on track.

See us right away

The window to save a tooth is a small one, as it will only remain viable for a certain amount of time outside the socket. So once you have safely stored the tooth, make your way over to us so we can do our part to reintegrate the tooth.

With any luck and the right care, the tooth can grow back into the socket. If it doesn’t, rest assured, we have a range of tooth replacement options.

If you have any questions about how to save a tooth that’s been knocked out, call our Brooklyn, New York, clinic at 718-355-8616 or our BP Dental Center for Kids at 718-473-0960. Or you can head straight to our urgent care clinic during our hours of operation. 

Our team proudly serves the Flatbush and East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Park Slope, Little Haiti, Little Caribbean, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens communities.