What Is a Dental Injury?
A dental injury is primarily an injury to the mouth. It can lead to the following:
- Lost or displaced teeth
- Broken teeth
- Damaged gums
if you happen to have lost a tooth and still have the lost tooth in your possession, chances are that it can be saved. You should rush to a dentist or the hospital within half an hour of the incident. It might still be possible to save the tooth even after 3 hours of the injury.
What Symptoms Relate to A Dental Injury?
An injury to your mouth is likely to cause swelling, or worse even bleeding. If the blood flow is heavy, you must seek quick and urgent medical attention considering there are chances that your airway could get blocked or jammed.
Oftentimes, the damage or the injury to your mouth might not be completely visible. If there is a case of a cracked tooth, or a chipped tooth loose tooth after an unforeseen incident, it is important that you see a dentist almost immediately. This will save you a lot of future inconveniences, effort, and long-term damage.
The other signs and symptoms of a dental injury include toothache, and swelling of the gums.
What Causes a Dental Injury?
The most well-known and frequent causes of dental injuries are:
- Falling over
- Being hit in the face
- Having an accident while playing a sport
- Eating something hard
When Should I See My Doctor?
- It is always wise to call an ambulance or go straight to the emergency room if you see:
- The person is having trouble breathing
- There is a lot of blood going down the throat
- The mouth or tongue is very swollen
- if the injured person is breathing normally and the mouth is not bleeding too heavily, try to use a sterile dressing gauge or a clean towel to apply firm yet gentle pressure on the bleeding area. Then rush to the emergency room at the earliest.
- If your child or you seem to develop or experience the symptoms listed below, bring it to the attention of your doctor:
- Any difficulty talking or swallowing
- Swollen lymph glands in the neck
- A fever (a temperature over 38⁰c)
- If your child or you happen to experience a painful tooth, try fixing an appointment with your dentist as soon as possible.
Dental Injury First Aid
Lost Or Displaced Teeth
If your child happens to lose their first tooth or baby tooth, it is not wise to try to put it back in. Instead, rinse their mouth with salt water and apply a cold compress if there is mouth swelling, consult your pharmacies or your doctor about painkillers or pain relief medicines suitable for children. Please understand that this is not applicable to teething babies.
If an adult person has lost their tooth, try to restore it. The next logical step would be to call the dentist immediately and ask for an immediate appointment, ideally within the first 30 minutes of the accident.
Handle the detached tooth with absolute caution- it is advisable to hold it by the brown. This is the white visible part of the tooth that is there. Strictly avoid touching the root. Don’t rinse the detached tooth or try scrubbing it. If the tooth has dirt on it, rinse or soak it in milk. If you don’t happen to have milk at your disposal, use saliva or a sterile saline solution that is easily available in the pharmacies.
If there is a possibility where you might be able to push the tooth back into the socket it came from, do it until you hear a click or feel like the detached tooth is on the same level as the other teeth. Then bite down very gently on a sterilized cloth while making an immediate visit to the dentist’s office for further check-up and treatment.
Unfortunately, if you cannot push the teeth back in the socket, place or soak it in a saline solution or a glass of milk, immediately to keep it alive. Soaking or placing it in water is not exactly wise because it might damage the tiny delicate cells of the detached tooth.
If you don’t have milk or saline solution at your immediate disposal, place the detached tooth cautiously in your mouth- between your gum and cheek and then rush to the dental health expert. Try to not make it harder than it already is by swallowing the detached teeth by mistake.
You can also try to make use of plastic wrap or a zip-lock pouch to protect the detached tooth. Spit a little saliva into the plastic wrap or the zip-lock bag before sealing it in. A piece of cloth or tissue paper is never a good choice to transport a detached tooth to the dentist’s office.
Broken Teeth:
If parts or portions of the tooth have broken or chipped off, these tiny parts too should be soaked in milk or a sterile solution to keep them alive and then carried to the dentist’s office.
Swelling and Pain:
If there is swelling, try holding a cold compress against the swollen side of the face to ease the pain and reduce the swelling. cover or wrap the icepack with a clean cloth before placing it against your face.
How Is a Dental Injury Diagnosed?
The doctor, dentist or orthodontist will quickly asses the condition and get an X-ray. They are also likely to ask you about your pain and inquire about your dental history.
How Is a Dental Injury Treated?
The treatment plan will completely be pendent on the type of injury, dental history, and overall health condition.
If the injury also concerns the pulp of your tooth, chances are that you might need a root canal procedure.
If the injured tooth is only hanging by a thread or is completely detached or dislocated, your dentist or the orthodontist will first need to stabilize it and give it some time until your mouth heals. The medical expert will possibly do it by making use of a split or bonding it to the adjacent tooth.
A cracked or broken tooth might require a crown to save itself. These crowns are usually made of porcelain or metal. As we have already mentioned, an additional crown strengthens the integrity of the tooth and keeps it stable.
If your detached tooth cannot be saved, the chances are that your dentist or orthodontist will discuss the alternative options with you. Some extremely severe dental cases often require surgical assistance.
Can A Dental Injury Be Prevented?
A few actions and activities are comparatively more dangerous and accident-prone than others when it comes to causing dental injuries. Prevention is always better than cure, which is exactly why it is wise to wear a well-fitted mouthguard- that could possibly be personalized by your orthodontist to protect your teeth while indulging in activities like:
- Off-road bike riding
- Skateboarding
- Rock climbing
- White-water rafting
- Trampolining
- Boxing
- Football — soccer, rugby, league,
- Basketball
- Squash
- Hockey
- Old , damaged, or worn-out mouthguards require replacement for the sake of your safety.
- Consult your dentist and seek his advice about oral protection tips for your child and yourself.
- Complications Of a Dental Injury
A minor or severe dental injury is often followed by the risk of getting an oral infection. You can easily prevent this by maintaining good oral health and dental hygiene regimen and following the instructions given by your dentist.
It is very important that you pay adequate attention to a dental injury and get it fixed. If you don’t, the chances are that your mouth might develop a long-term ailment having a detrimental effect on your overall health. Dental injuries are bound to make it harder for you to talk, chew and swallow your food. This will have an impact on your nutrition and general health conditions.