Dental emergencies often happen at the most inopportune moments, and even though you think it won’t happen to you, the truth is that most of us will experience some sort of dental issue when we least expect it.
A knocked-out tooth is one dental emergency we treat at our Northborough dental office, and it’s important to know that the first 30 minutes are critical to saving your natural tooth.
Acting Quickly Is Key
There’s only a small window of time to successfully place your tooth back in its socket, so acting quickly and knowing what to do are key.
Here are the steps you should follow:
- First, contact our office or have a friend or loved one call us to let us know what’s going on.
- Make sure not to touch your tooth’s roots; handling it by the crown, try to place it back in its socket.
- Keeping your tooth moist is critical, so if you can’t reinsert your tooth, place it in a container of milk or store it inside your cheek until you can get to our office.
What Happens During the First 30 Minutes?
There are numerous reasons why you should schedule an emergency dental appointment as soon as possible after losing a tooth:
- We’ve found that your tooth’s survival rate is at its highest if it can be reinserted within 30 to 60 minutes after getting knocked out. And although 30 minutes is ideal, you still have a good chance if you get to your dentist within an hour.
- Your tooth’s ligament cells quickly dry out once they’re exposed to air, and blood is no longer being supplied to them.
- Your tooth’s socket starts to close and heal soon after your tooth gets knocked out, so acting fast is essential to your chances of reinsertion.
Looking for an Emergency Dentist in Northborough, MA?
If a dental emergency threatens your oral health, our experienced dental team will happily assist you! At Northborough Family Dental, we’ll work to alleviate your discomfort and restore your smile’s health and beauty.
When the unexpected happens, just give us a call at (508) 393-2522; we’re here to help!