Dental Trauma

Dental trauma to primary (baby) teeth:

Children can cause damage to their primary teeth, particularly in the early years when learning to walk and move around. This will most commonly affect their upper front teeth. If your child has a knock to their primary teeth, it’s important to seek help from your dentist promptly. Where possible, our team will try to save your child’s teeth, however we must ensure that there is limited risk to the developing adult teeth by doing this.

When you attend, we will carry out a thorough assessment of the mouth, gums and surrounding areas and may take dental x-rays if necessary. Detailed information will be given on how to look after your child’s injury to help reassure at a worrying time!

Dental trauma to permanent (adult) teeth:

Traumatic dental injuries of permanent teeth most commonly occur in children and young adults. These usually affect the upper front teeth, attending a dentist in a timely manner is essential as losing a permanent tooth can have a lifetime of consequences. When a permanent tooth is injured, this can cause damage to the nerve of the tooth. If this becomes irreversibly damaged, further follow up and dental treatment is often required. In the majority of cases of dental trauma, visiting a dentist quickly is essential.

At Denvolve, we are here to help and ensure your teeth are looked after in the best way possible. We will carry out a thorough assessment which will likely include x-rays and clinical assessment. We will ensure any treatment is delivered in calm and gentle way at this stressful time.

Avulsed permanent tooth:

Avulsion of the tooth is when the tooth (including the root) is completely displaced from its socket. An avulsed tooth is considered a dental emergency and requires immediate treatment from a dentist.

In order to save the tooth, it should be replanted as soon as possible, this can even be done by yourself/parent/guardian as long you are conscious not to swallow it whilst loose on the way to a dentist. The survival of the tooth depends heavily on how long it is out of the mouth. Whilst the tooth is kept out of the mouth it must be kept moist to prevent damage to the cells, the best way to do this is in milk, in the mouth or in saline.

Displaced permanent tooth:

A tooth may be displaced in several different ways, this could be into the direction of the bony socket, out of the socket or displacement of the tooth sideways. We will try to reposition this tooth into its original position where possible. These injuries are best treated as soon as possible for optimum outcomes, this type of damage can also affect the nerve of the tooth requiring further follow up.

Fractured permanent tooth:

A tooth can become fractured in several different ways, and this can affect different layers within the tooth. When a tooth breaks, try to locate the fragments if possible and bring them with you to the dentist as soon as possible as in certain cases we may even be able to stick them back on.

If the fracture is small, it may not cause discomfort, however it is essential to visit a dentist so that we can ensure the tooth and nerve is protected. Where possible, we try to restore the tooth back to it’s original shape, which is usually with tooth coloured composite bonding.