First aid for dental injuries - treatment and prevention tips!

Accidents can often occur when you least expect it. Dental trauma not only requires immediate dental treatment, but can often lead to serious aesthetic, functional, psychological and economic consequences. Dental injuries are also relatively common – affecting approximately 20-30% of people at some stage of their lives!

Dental trauma can often occur when playing contact sport. Prevention is crucial in these circumstances to reduce the chance of these dental injuries occurring, and it is important to also know the basic first aid steps for when dental trauma does occur! Here is our advice for how to prevent injury and what steps to take if injury does occur.

Common dental injuries (and some immediate actions to take!) 

Broken tooth

If you experience a chipped or broken tooth, you should attempt to find and keep the broken piece of tooth. This may be able to be glued back on to restore the tooth! If this is not possible, a filling may be able to be placed to restore the aesthetics of the tooth. You should see a dentist as soon as possible to assess the condition of the tooth and evaluate if further treatment is required.

Loose tooth (displaced)

If a tooth becomes loose or displaced, do not touch it! Attempting to move the tooth yourself may cause more damage or make it harder to fix. See a dentist as soon as possible to allow them to treat it properly! Your dentist may apply a split to the teeth to secure it in position and allow proper healing.

Tooth comes out (avulsed)

If your tooth is displaced entirely and falls out, attempt to find it immediately and pick it up by the crown (enamel). Do not place the tooth in water or attempt to clean it by brushing! This may contaminate the root and ligaments of the tooth which can reduce the chances of a successful restoration. Keep the tooth in milk or saliva, or keep it in the cheek of your mouth (making sure not to swallow it!). Go to an emergency dentist immediately (ideally within 30 minutes), as the sooner the tooth is replaced, the greater the chance is that it will survive.

At Green Valley Dental, we offer same day emergency appointments for when dental injuries or emergencies occur! Make sure to save our number (1300 785 592) and keep it on hand for if you ever require our assistance.

General advice 

For all dental injuries, appropriate treatment is essential in taking care of your teeth! Follow up is also integral to monitor and review the injury over time and make sure that it is healing properly. Your dentist will usually advise when your next appointment(s) are required.

As with all health conditions, prevention is always better than cure for dental injuries! You should always make sure to wear a mouth guard when playing contact sport to reduce the chance of injury occurring!

An ideal mouth guard should be:

• Properly fitted – custom fabricated are the best!
• Appropriate material
• Well designed to protect and prevent injury
•  Simple to wear and maintain.

Green Valley Dental have sports mouth guards available for sale at our practice, and can advise you on the best option for you! Alternatively, if you require urgent dental treatment for a dental injury, or just a general dental check up, we can help! Visit our website to book a consultation or call us on 1300 785 592.