A tooth knocked out
The one thing on this website where the clock genuinely matters, and where what you do in the first ten minutes changes the outcome.
What this covers
- An adult tooth, out whole
- The time-critical version. The tooth has a chance of going back in, and that chance falls away quickly, which is why this page leads with the clock rather than with the phone.
- An adult tooth, pushed sideways or up
- Still in the socket but visibly moved. Treated as urgently as one that came out completely, and not something to push back into place yourself.
- A child's baby tooth
- Handled differently, and generally not put back, because doing so can damage the adult tooth still forming above it. Still worth a call the same day.
- A tooth out after a serious blow
- If the injury also involved a blow to the head, loss of consciousness, or a jaw that will not close properly, the hospital comes first and the tooth comes second.
What happens, in order
- 01
Pick it up by the crown
The crown is the chewing part. The root is the pointed end, and the cells on its surface are the entire reason a replant can work. Do not touch them and do not scrub them.
- 02
If it is dirty, rinse it briefly in milk or saline
A few seconds, no soap, no scrubbing, no tap water if you can avoid it. Cleaning it thoroughly is the mistake that ends the tooth.
- 03
Keep it wet
Milk is the usual advice because most kitchens have it. Saline works. The inside of the injured person's own cheek works for an adult who is fully conscious. A tooth allowed to dry out has effectively been thrown away.
- 04
Call while somebody else drives
Ring (765) 330-8726 on the way rather than after arriving. Say the words knocked out and give the time it happened.
Why the first hour is the whole story
A tooth is held in its socket by a thin layer of living tissue on the root surface. Those cells begin to die the moment the tooth is out and dry, and once they are gone the tooth can sometimes still be replaced but it behaves differently afterwards. Every widely published emergency protocol says the same two things in the same order: keep it moist, and get to a dentist immediately. Everything else on this page is a detail underneath those two.
The mistakes that are hard to undo
The common ones are wrapping the tooth in a tissue, running it under a tap until it looks clean, scrubbing the root with a brush, or putting it in a dry pot to bring in later. All four come from a sensible instinct about hygiene and all four are the wrong move here. A slightly dirty wet tooth is in far better shape than a spotless dry one.
When it stops being a dental problem
A tooth knocked out during a fall, a collision or an assault often comes with other injuries that matter more. Confusion, a headache that is getting worse, vomiting, bleeding that will not stop, a jaw that will not close, or any loss of consciousness all mean an emergency room, immediately. The tooth can travel with you in a pot of milk.
Worth knowing
Never handle the root
By the crown, every time, even when it is awkward.
Do not store it dry
A tissue, a napkin or an empty container is the same as leaving it on the pavement.
Do not force a tooth back into a socket
Replanting is done by somebody who can see what they are doing. Getting it wrong causes damage that outlasts the injury.
A tooth knocked out, asked and answered
How long do I have?
Less than you would like, which is why this page tells you to call on the way rather than after you arrive. Kept wet, the tooth stays viable considerably longer than it does dry.
My child knocked out a baby tooth. Same thing?
No. Baby teeth are generally not replanted because of the risk to the adult tooth forming behind it. It is still a same-day call.
It is out and I cannot find it. Is there any point calling?
Yes. The socket and the teeth on either side still need looking at, and a tooth that seems lost has occasionally gone somewhere that matters.
People reading this also needed
A knock to the mouth
An elbow, a kerb, a dashboard or a bathroom floor. What matters here is the order you check things in.
A chipped or broken tooth
Most of these do not hurt on the day, which is exactly why so many of them get left.
Swelling, and when it stops being dental
The one page on this site that will tell you to go somewhere other than a dentist, and mean it.
Nothing on this page can look at your tooth.
This is general information about a tooth knocked out. Whether it is what you have, and whether it can be handled here, are both questions for the call.