If you’ve suffered a tooth trauma, contact your dentist immediately

Regardless of the condition, it’s best to be seen as soon as possible by a dental professional if you have suffered a traumatic dental accident.

When you experience a dental injury, it is both a physical and emotional trauma. At Kennerly Dental, we will work to repair your smile to its natural beauty.

If you have suffered a dental accident, contact your dentist immediately.

What do I do if my tooth is knocked out?

Time is critical in this situation. 

Teeth that are knocked out have a better chance of success if they are reimplanted back into the socket as soon as possible.

Avoid touching the root surface and keep the tooth clean. Reimplanted teeth require a temporary splinting to reestablish the normal position and fixate the tooth to prevent movement.

If the tooth is unable to be placed back into the site, put the tooth in a glass of milk, if possible.

If milk is not available, use the patient’s saliva to keep wet.

See a dentist immediately. If a tooth is placed back in its socket soon enough by your dentist, the tooth can be saved.

In some cases, even if tooth replacement is successful, complications may still occur in the future such as tooth necrosis (nerve death), nerve canal calcification, root resorption, or tooth ankyloses (fusion of tooth to bone).

What do I do if I have a cracked tooth?

 If you have a cracked tooth that is the result of recent trauma or accident, contact your dentist immediately.

If you have a broken or chipped tooth, remove the fractured piece, if possible, to prevent choking.

Don’t chew on anything hard until you see your dentist.

If you have a cracked or chipped tooth that is not the result of recent trauma, your dentist can evaluate the tooth for possible treatment.

It is still essential to have the tooth evaluated as soon as possible because in some cases, a minor procedure now can save you from a more significant procedure in the future.

There are many possible treatments for a chipped or cracked tooth, depending on the severity of the problem:

• A tiny chip in the tooth may be corrected by enamel shaping. If the chip is larger, the best repair options may be bonding or a veneer. If the chip is on a molar, a filling may be able to restore the break.
• Larger chips and fractured teeth typically require a crown. If the fracture involves the nerve, root canal therapy may be necessary before the tooth is crowned. It is essential to have a broken tooth crowned before it becomes more of a problem causing infection or pain.In extreme cases when a broken tooth cannot be saved and requires extraction, the missing tooth may be replaced by an implant, bridge, or partial denture.
• When a tooth is cracked, a filling may not seal the crack. A crown may have to be placed over the tooth to prevent the crack from spreading further. If the crack is not restored, the tooth will become sensitive to chewing pressure or will eventually break. It is important to restore a cracked tooth before it breaks and causes the need for root canal treatment or worse.

At Kennerly Dental, we work to create beautiful smiles one person at a time. We are a family dental office that makes a point to listen to our patients’ needs and treat them as individuals.

In our 50 years of combined experience, we have provided every patient with individualized dental care specific to their needs. Call us to make an appointment with our experienced staff today.

If you have suffered a tooth trauma after hours, please call the emergency number.