What To Do When You Lose A Tooth

If the worst happens, and you lose a tooth, don’t worry – there may be steps you can take and procedures you can have to sort the problem. Our dentists, serving Bodmin and the surrounding areas, talk a few scenarios here in today’s blog post, so you’re more informed about what to do if this should happen to you.

You’ve just lost it

Maybe you’ve suffered a small accident and knocked out a tooth. Or it could’ve been a sporting injury out on the playing field. It’s even possible – though we hope it’s not the case – that you might have been involved in an altercation. Whatever the situation, our dentists will help with support, not judgement. Keep the tooth in a glass of milk if you can, and contact our emergency dentists to be seen as quickly as possible. It might be that your tooth can be reinserted.

You’ve lost a tooth fairly recently

In these cases, if it’s been days or even hours since the tooth loss, there may be little we can do to save the tooth. However, depending on the placement, we might be able to offer a procedure such as dental implants, which inserts a false tooth into the gap. Over time, this will fuse with your underlying jaw bone for a secure, realistic result.

You’ve lost multiple teeth

This depends on whether it’s a case of speaking to an emergency dentist in a crisis, or you have a medical concern like gum disease or periodontitis. Again, with multiple tooth loss, you might be a candidate for dental implants – but your gum disease or periodontitis will need to be treated or rectified if possible, beforehand.

There is one more scenario we haven’t spoken about – children. As children mature, they begin to lose their ‘baby’ or ‘milk’ teeth and their adult teeth start to erupt (or come in). Sometimes, when a child loses a milk tooth, you’ll see the adult tooth poking through the new gap. Or, you might see the adult tooth growing close to the location of the milk tooth. If you’re concerned that your child’s teeth aren’t erupting properly, talk to our dentists.

And finally…

Here at our dental practice near Bodmin, we’ll help you with any dental concerns. Whatever the situation, we’ll offer support, advice and information. To get in touch, visit our contact page and we’ll take care of the rest.