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.

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.