Living and growing carry a high risk of trauma. A child will not learn to walk without falling, and few children reach 4 years of age without having received a blow to the mouth.
Possible complications of dental trauma:
Ø No obvious
injury/fracture
Ø Mobile
/loosening of teeth
Ø Crown
fracture or crack
Ø Root
fracture
Ø Displacement
of teeth either axially or laterally-intrusion,extrusion, lateral luxation
Ø Avulsion
First aid for avulsed teeth
If
a tooth is avulsed, make sure it is a permanent tooth (primary teeth should not
be replanted).
1 1. Keep the patient
calm.
2. Find the tooth and pick it up by the crown (the white part). Avoid touching
the root.
3. If the tooth is
dirty, wash it briefly (10 seconds) under cold running water and reposition it.
Try to encourage the patient / parent
to replant the tooth. Bite on a handkerchief to hold it in position.
4. If this is not
possible, place the tooth in a suitable storage
medium, e.g. a glass of milk or a special storage media for
avulsed teeth if available (e.g. Hanks balanced storage medium or saline).
If the patient is very young, he/she
could swallow the tooth if keeping it between molars and cheeck- therefore it
is advisable to get the patient to spit in a container(saliva) and place the
tooth in it.
Avoid
storage in water!
5. Seek emergency dental
treatment immediately.
See your dentist as soon as possible for management. Early and prompt
treatment improves the prognosis of the treatment significantly.
