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Tooth Loss: what to do when it happens?
Accidental tooth loss is common among children. Most of the times, tooth loss happens unintentionally during sports, hitting a hard object or surface, or any activities that gives a direct force on the face that causes teeth to be knocked off.
There is no need to worry about tooth loss when this happens to babies or children; because a busted baby tooth may be replaced naturally as the kid grows up.
But for adults, to experience accidental tooth loss due to an exchange of blows or any other kind of mishaps is a very frustrating experience. Not only you can’t flash a very glinting smile, you will also end up having trouble in ingesting your food because of the pain and a very annoying feeling of having spaces in your oral area. Worse, if you lost a number of teeth at the same time, you will experience problems in pronunciation of words, and this will somehow create a very humiliating situation for you.
An adult tooth is not like a baby tooth that will be replaced naturally by a new one in months. Not only that, a hard blow that chipped the tooth may also create a force that is enough to move other teeth out of alignment as well. There are also instances that it can break the portion of the bone that holds the tooth in place.
So for the case of tooth loss, are there any ways you can do to repair a broken or chipped tooth?
The answer is “Yes!” A disfigured tooth can be mended, as long as it was not torn down into tiny bits. It is important that a bigger portion of the tooth is still intact especially its roots that holds it in place.
You should always remember that once a tooth is accidentally knocked off, you should call your dentist as soon as possible, and you should schedule an emergency visit with him if you want to save your precious tooth. It is still possible to reimplant your broken tooth, so you should pay a quick visit to the dentist, because he knows what to do best.
This emergency situation requires you to take urgent measures too. Once this happen, do not throw your tooth or pour some chemicals on it. But instead, you should drop it in a glass of milk and allow it to stay there while you are on your way to your dentist. By doing this process, the tooth will not get dried up or expire right away, because it can still absorbed calcium in the milk. Do not think of other substitutes for milk like a tap water or alcohol, because you will just ruin your chances of having your tooth back.
Or better yet, if there is no milk available at your home, you can wash it with a clean water and place it gently back in a socket that is located between your gum and cheeks. Just be careful not to swallow it or else you will experience more trouble.
So think of it very carefully. This is one good emergency response when accidental tooth loss happens. But if your tooth is completely useless, try to contact your dentist right away to determine what appropriate measures to be done. Most likely, you will undergo an artificial tooth implant that may cost some cash. But why think of the expenses if it can give you back your valuable smile at an instant!