A dental injury is usually caused by a blow to the face or mouth that results in one or more teeth being damaged or knocked out. This factsheet explains how to treat and prevent the most common dental injuries.

About dental injuries

There are a number of ways you can get a dental injury, including chipping or breaking (fracturing) your tooth. Having a dental injury can also cause your tooth to come out of its socket (dental avulsion).

Any number of things can cause a dental injury. For example, you may have a fall, get hit in the face or be in a road traffic accident. Sometimes even eating something very hard can break your tooth, particularly if it’s been weakened by tooth decay.

While most dental injuries are accidental, there are some factors that make these accidents more likely to happen. Some of the most common are listed below.

• Playing contact sports, such as rugby or boxing, or any sport that involves physical contact or moving objects such as bats and balls.
• Having upper front teeth that stick out.
• Being unsteady on your feet or having a medical condition, such as epilepsy.

First aid for dental injuries

If you have a dental injury, or someone you know has one, it’s important to get the right help.

For example, if the accident causes you or someone you know to be knocked out (lose consciousness), or if there is a lot of bleeding, it’s important to call for emergency help. Otherwise, you should contact a dentist straight away. If it’s outside usual opening hours, go straight to the accident and emergency department at the nearest hospital.

Try to do the following if your tooth has been knocked out.

• Try not to touch the tooth’s root – it’s best if you only handle it by the crown (the white bit at the top).
• If possible, put the tooth back into its socket in your mouth. This is called re-implanting the tooth. If the tooth is dirty, gently rinse it with milk or saline solution (for example, contact lens solution) for a few seconds. Don’t use water or scrub the tooth. Try to put it in the right way round, but don’t worry too much as your dentist can fix this. The important thing is to put it back in as quickly as possible. Don’t put children’s milk (baby) teeth back in the socket as this can damage the developing adult teeth.
• When your tooth is back in its socket, bite down gently on a clean handkerchief or a piece of gauze to keep it in place.
• If you can’t re-implant your tooth straight away, store it in milk or saliva (by spitting into a container) or place it inside your mouth between your cheek and gum until you can get to a dentist. However, this isn’t recommended for young children as they could swallow or inhale the tooth.
• If you haven’t got the whole tooth, don’t try to put a broken tooth back in your mouth. Store it in a pot of saliva or milk as your dentist may be able to reattach it.

Even if you don’t think your tooth is broken, it’s still important to see your dentist as soon as possible. There may be an injury below the gum line that you can’t see.

Treatment of dental injuries

If your tooth has been loosened or knocked out

When you see a dentist, he or she will look inside your mouth to see if your tooth has been re-implanted properly. If not, your dentist will try to re-implant it as soon as possible. However, this may not always be appropriate – ask your dentist for information.

You will need to have your tooth splinted (joined to your neighbouring teeth) to hold it in place as it heals. There are different types of splint; the most common is made of clear plastic. Another type is a thin piece of wire, which attaches your loose tooth to those on either side of it. If you handled your tooth carefully and re-implanted it quickly, you will need to keep this on for one to two weeks. If your injury was more severe and caused root damage, you may need to wear the splint for several weeks.

Your dentist may take some X-rays to see how serious your injury is and if there are any pieces of broken tooth stuck in your lip, gum or tongue. If you think you have inhaled a piece of tooth, your dentist may refer you to hospital for a chest X-ray.

If your tooth has been chipped

Treatment for a chipped tooth will depend on where your tooth has broken. Teeth have a core of blood vessels and nerves at their centre called the pulp. If your tooth is injured, the pulp can be damaged and the blood vessels may die.

If a piece of your tooth has chipped off but the pulp isn’t damaged, your dentist will smooth the uneven edge and replace the corner with a tooth-coloured filling. If the pulp is damaged, you may need to have root canal treatment to remove the damaged blood vessels and nerves from your tooth.

Your dentist may also check your mouth to see if the chipped tooth has caused any further damage to your mouth. You may need to have an X-ray to check that a piece of your tooth isn’t embedded in your lip, for example.

If your tooth has broken roots

Your teeth have roots that are set in your jawbones. If a root fractures, it’s possible that your tooth won’t look any different because the fracture is hidden by bone and gum. However, your dentist may be able to see a fractured root on X-ray images.

If your tooth is quite firm, your dentist may just ask you to come back for regular X-rays and tests to make sure that the pulp stays healthy. However, if your tooth is wobbly, it will need to be splinted for a few weeks to help the fracture heal.

If your dentist finds that the pulp has been damaged and isn’t going to recover in the weeks and months after the root fracture, he or she may recommend that you have root canal treatment to save the tooth.

Some fractures are unlikely to heal, particularly if they are near the gum or the tooth has broken lengthways. Your dentist may recommend that you have your tooth taken out.

After your treatment

If at any stage you feel pain or notice any change in colour to your damaged tooth, it’s important to visit your dentist as the pulp can die a long time after a dental injury. If you have had your tooth re-implanted, continue to get it checked as you may need treatment in the future.

Dental injuries in children

Young children who injure their milk teeth may need different treatment to that given to adults or teenagers. For example, if a milk tooth gets knocked out, the dentist is unlikely to try to re-implant it. This is because it could damage the permanent tooth when it develops. Occasionally, an injury to a milk tooth can cause damage to the developing adult tooth. This will be monitored at check-ups.