1. The Tooth Fairy Is Coming
If a child experiences trauma that dislodges a baby tooth (deciduous tooth), prepare for an early visit from the tooth fairy. You must not attempt to replace a knocked out baby tooth in its socket. Baby teeth replaced into their sockets can get stubborn about releasing their stronghold when it's time for the permanent teeth to come in. Nevertheless, children experiencing a dislodged baby tooth still require an immediate trip to the dentist to rule out damage to the jaw.
2. Milk Does a Tooth Good
If a patient experiences trauma that dislodges a tooth, the best material to clean the tooth while it awaits implantation back into its socket is saliva. However, this isn't always possible, if the patient is unconscious or too upset to cooperate. You must not allow the tooth to dry out, as the desiccation of the root greatly lessens the chance of successfully reattaching the tooth. The second best liquid you can use to clean and moisten the dislodged tooth is milk, not water. If the tooth is dirty, and you don't have any milk on hand, rinse the tooth in water only for a second to prevent chlorine damage to the root.
3. Nature Abhors a Vacuum
The best place for a dislodged tooth is the socket from whence it came. As soon as you clean a dislodged tooth, place it firmly back into its socket and keep it there until you receive medical attention. Handle the tooth by the white part, and avoid touching the vulnerable root. Don't rely on a wiggly tongue to keep your tooth where it belongs; use a finger or bite down on a clean cloth to hold the tooth in place. The tooth and its socket belong together, and you increase the tooth's chances for survival by disallowing the socket a chance to form a tooth-excluding blood clot.
4. All Is Not Lost
You must administer first aid to dislodged teeth, even if you can't find the teeth. First, conduct a thorough search of the area where the trauma occurred, and don't discount the patient's hair and clothing. It's not uncommon to uncover a lost tooth in the patient's pocket, hours later when it's too late to save the tooth. If it's clear the tooth or teeth are lost, seek immediate care from a dentist anyway. The patient may have sustained jaw damage, and only imaging tests like an X-ray can reveal this.
