Dental Trauma & Emergency Dentistry

Any accident that involves the teeth and mouth can cause quite serious injury. It’s important to stay calm and seek help from a dentist as soon as possible. Even if you are not sure, or if there is no visible injury, it’s good to get checked.

Dental Injury	What it looks like	What to do
Tooth is chipped, fractured or cracked	Small pieces of tooth have chipped away from the tooth or there is a visible crack.	Try to find the tooth fragment so you can take it with you to dentist.
Tooth has moved from original position	Tooth/teeth been pushed into the gum, pushed backwards or towards teeth on either side.	Try to gently move the teeth to their original position. Use a soft cloth or tissue to gently close the mouth.
Tooth is loose	Tooth/teeth may feel loose immediately or some time after a knock to the mouth.	See a dentist who can check your mouth and see whether the tooth is fractured.
Tooth is missing	Tooth/teeth have been knocked out of the mouth completely.	Stay calm and follow the steps below.

What to do if you knock out a tooth

It’s important to stay calm and act quickly if you or someone around you has had an accident with their teeth. A calm response will reassure the injured person and be more helpful to the dentist if you follow these steps:

For children with baby teeth:

• Try to find the tooth but do not place baby teeth back into the mouth

• Place the tooth in milk or the child’s saliva and bring it with you to see a dentist as soon as possible

• We will check for damage to the other teeth, gums and mouth in your child’s mouth 

For adults and children with adult teeth:

• Pick the tooth up by the crown (the part of tooth we normally see) and take care not to touch the root 

• If the tooth is dirty, rinse gently in milk or saline. Do not scrub or touch the root

• If possible, place the tooth back into the mouth, checking that is the right way around

• Apply gentle pressure by biting down on a soft cloth

• If you can’t replace the tooth, put it in a container and cover it with milk or the injured person’s saliva. Do not use water.

• Do not transport a tooth dry in a tissue or cloth.

• See a dentist straight away. Time is an important factor for long term outcomes so do not delay seeking treatment.

How we can help – emergency dentistry services

Accidents often happen outside normal hours. Stay calm and call us immediately if you have an emergency. We can prioritise emergency appointments and have on-call dentists who can talk you through exactly what to do.