Your child has injured a tooth: first steps

Children run, fall, ride bikes and play, and sometimes even on holiday they have an “unlucky accident”. When a tooth takes a knock, parents are thrown. In this article I explain what to do in the first minutes and what the doctor will check.

In the first minutes

• Stay calm: your child is watching how you react
• If there is loss of consciousness, vomiting, a severe headache or drowsiness, go to emergency services first
• Rinse the mouth with clean water and stop bleeding by pressing with a clean tissue
• If you find a broken piece of tooth, bring it in milk or saline

If a baby tooth has been knocked out

According to the guidelines of the International Association of Dental Traumatology, a knocked-out baby tooth is not put back. This can harm the permanent tooth developing underneath. If a permanent tooth has been knocked out, the situation is different: find it straight away, hold it by the crown, do not touch the root, keep it in milk or saline and see a dentist as soon as possible, ideally within the first hour.

What we look at during the examination

• Whether the tooth is broken, loose or out of position
• Injuries to the gum and lip
• The condition of the root and the developing permanent tooth on the X-ray

In the following weeks

A few weeks after a knock, the tooth may change colour and turn grey or yellowish, and a bump may appear on the gum. If you notice these signs, come back for another check-up. Planned follow-up visits after an injury are important.