Dental Trauma – a quick guide
Nobody plans to injure their teeth, so here is a quick guide as to what to do in the event of dental trauma.
- A tooth is knocked out completely, but is still intact. Make sure to hold the tooth by the crown only. Place it in a cup with milk covering the tooth, and bring the patient and the tooth to a dentist as soon as possible. Depending on their age and the time that the tooth is out of the mouth, it could be put back in.
- If a tooth has chipped, try and find the part that chipped off. It may be able to be re-attached. Bring the patient to a dentist as soon as possible.
- Other injuries including: teeth looked pushed in, teeth look pushed back, teeth are loose. Bring the patient to a dentist as soon as possible. Do not attempt to push the teeth back into their correct positions, as if this is done incorrectly it may not be able to be corrected!
- Suspected jaw fracture e.g. teeth do not bite together properly, patient’s jaws look out of line. Bring the patient to a hospital emergency as soon as possible.
Perth Wildcats basketball player Damian Martin sustained a jaw fracture
