What to do when a tooth breaks?

Dental trauma is one of the emergencies par excellence in pediatric dentistry. The blows to the mouth are usually bulky, quite painful and with consequences that can range from avulsion (total loss of the tooth) to breakage, in different degrees, of the dental structure.

• In this type of dental injury, the time factor is very important, since it is about acting quickly.
• First it is convenient to clean the area and look for the missing tooth or pieces and even go to the specialist.
• Failing that, we will keep it on the child's cheek with its own saliva.

How to act

First of all, in these cases, it is very important to remain calm. It's difficult but not impossible. Our son will be scared and in pain, so you have to try to be fast and efficient. The time factor is very important in this type of dental injury.

Before a, the affected area should be cleaned with serum or simply with water to make an assessment of the consequences of the blow. If there is an absence of a tooth or one or more broken teeth, the missing tooth or pieces of teeth should be looked for.Once found, try, especially in the case of a whole tooth, to take it by the crown and try to manipulate it. as little as possible.

They should be immersed in skim milk or physiological saline (they are considered the best "home" conditions to keep the tooth or piece of tooth until going to the dental office), failing that, it is better to keep it on the child's own cheek with their own saliva than wet it with water or take it dry.

We will try to go as quickly as possible to the dental consultation so that they can assess the affectation and can make a proper diagnosis and act accordingly.

At the dentist

The performance of the dentist can vary depending on whether the affected tooth is or is one, especially if we talk about the most drastic case that would be the total loss of the tooth. In this case, reimplantation is not recommended if it is a baby tooth, since its manipulation is considered dangerous because it can affect the germ of the final tooth that is in the bone in a state of formation.

On the other hand, if it is a permanent tooth, it will be tried as long as it can be reimplanted. This is precisely why the time factor is so important. The prognosis in these cases will depend a lot on the time that the tooth has been out of place and on the conditions in which it has been maintained for this time.