What are Traumatic Dental Injuries?
Traumatic dental injuries often occur due to an accident, like a sports mishap or a fall. After your accident, it’s important to seek dental care to treat and preserve your tooth.
Traumatic dental injuries involve an injury to your teeth or mouth. Traumatic dental injuries can be minor or they can put you at risk of losing one or more of your teeth. Always seek dental care as soon as possible after your accident, even if you think your injury isn’t serious. You may have dental or oral injuries that aren’t noticeable, or your injury may be more severe than you think.
What are common Traumatic Dental Injuries?
Some of the most common traumatic dental injuries include:
A tooth that’s chipped or fractured: When a tooth is hit, it can chip or even break into two pieces. If the damage to your tooth extends to the pulp, you’ll need to address the trauma to prevent infection and discomfort.
A tooth that’s pushed out of its socket: Dental injuries can push your tooth sideways in its socket or loosen it. Treatment will focus on stabilizing your dislodged tooth back into the socket and addressing any damage to the tooth’s pulp or root.
A tooth is knocked out: If your tooth is knocked completely out, emergency dental services are vital for saving the tooth. Try to see your dental provider within 30 minutes of your injury for the best chances of keeping your tooth. Even if we can’t reinsert your tooth, we can explore other options for managing your injury.
What can you do about Traumatic Dental Injuries?
We’ll evaluate your injury so that we can recommend options for treating and preserving your tooth.
Treatments for traumatic dental injuries will vary depending on how badly your tooth is damaged, whether the tooth is a permanent or baby tooth, and what portion of the tooth is damaged.
Perform a root canal
If your injury is severe, it’s likely damaged your tooth’s pulp. The pulp is the portion of your tooth that contains nerves, tissues, and blood vessels. When the pulp is damaged or exposed, you’re likely to experience infection and consistent pain. A root canal removes the damaged pulp to minimize your pain and risk of infection. After your root canal, you can explore options for restoring the tooth.
Restore your tooth
You have options for restoring the appearance and functionality of your tooth. A filling or crown may be recommended for a tooth that needs a root canal or other endodontic procedure. Or, if your tooth is knocked out and can’t be reattached, an implant is an alternative for replacing the missing tooth.
Schedule non-vital bleaching
When your tooth’s pulp is damaged, this may cause tooth discoloration. Or, if bacteria or other material enter your tooth, this can alter the color. Non-vital bleaching changes your tooth’s color back to its natural hue.
Need dental care for a traumatic dental injury? Contact us immediately.
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