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.
What this covers
- Teeth that feel loose
- A tooth that moves after a blow has had its support disturbed, even when it looks normal. Loose teeth are urgent, and they are often the thing people notice last.
- A cut lip, gum or tongue
- Mouth wounds bleed dramatically and heal fast. Bleeding that will not slow after ten minutes of firm pressure is a different matter.
- Teeth that no longer meet properly
- If your bite feels wrong after an impact, something has moved, and that includes the possibility of the jaw itself.
- A jaw that will not close or line up
- Hospital, not a dentist. The same goes for a jaw that clicks and locks after a serious impact.
- A head injury alongside it
- Any loss of consciousness, confusion, repeated vomiting or a worsening headache goes to an emergency room first, whatever the teeth look like.
What happens, in order
- 01
Deal with the head before the teeth
Confusion, blacking out, worsening headache or vomiting means an emergency room now. Teeth are survivable and heads are the priority.
- 02
Control the bleeding
Firm pressure with clean gauze or a cloth for ten unbroken minutes. Lifting it every thirty seconds to check is what keeps it bleeding.
- 03
Count the teeth
Look for anything missing, chipped, moved or loose. A tooth that came out completely has its own page and its own clock.
- 04
Call and describe the impact
Ring (765) 330-8726 with what hit what, how long ago, and what you can see in a mirror.
The tooth that looks fine for three weeks
A blow can damage the nerve inside a tooth without breaking anything visible. The tooth carries on normally, and then some weeks later it darkens, or it starts to ache, or an abscess appears at the root. That delay is the reason a knock to the mouth is worth having looked at even when nothing appears to have happened. It is also why any tooth that changes colour after an old injury is worth a call.
Why loose teeth are more urgent than they feel
A tooth that has been shifted in its socket is being held by tissue that has just been stretched or torn. Left to be chewed on, it keeps moving and the support does not reattach. It is one of the situations where a few days genuinely changes the outcome, and it is easy to dismiss because it usually does not hurt much.
Children and sport
The most common dental injuries in this category happen to people between about seven and eighteen, and a large share of them happen with a ball or an elbow involved. A mouthguard is the boring answer that keeps working. It is worth raising at the appointment, when it is already on your mind.
Worth knowing
Head first, always
No dental problem outranks a possible concussion or a jaw fracture.
Do not test a loose tooth by wiggling it
Every check makes it slightly looser. Leave it alone and eat soft food until it is seen.
Photograph it if you can
A phone photo taken on the day is genuinely useful later, particularly if an insurer or a school is involved.
A knock to the mouth, asked and answered
Nothing is broken and nothing hurts. Do I need to call?
It is worth one call. Nerve damage from an impact regularly shows up weeks later, and knowing the tooth was checked on the day is useful when it does.
One tooth has gone slightly grey since a fall last year.
That is a recognised outcome of an old injury and it is a reason to ring rather than to wait for pain.
The bleeding has stopped but the lip is huge.
Swelling after a mouth injury is normal and cold on the outside helps. Bleeding that restarts, or a wound that gapes, needs looking at.
People reading this also needed
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.
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 knock to the mouth. Whether it is what you have, and whether it can be handled here, are both questions for the call.