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• Injuries to the teeth

Some Basics...

• There are many ways that people can injure their teeth.
• There are also many types of tooth injuries. Teeth are made of bonelike material that can be injured.
• Treatment depends on the type of injury a person has. A dentist will know the right way to treat a tooth injury.

Types of Tooth Injuries

• Avulsion of Tooth (knocked out tooth): this is a dental emergency. A knocked out tooth needs to be quickly put back in its socket. This should be done within minutes. Do not wait more than 2 hours.
• Concussion of Tooth: this is when a tooth was bumped but is not loose. This is the most common dental injury. No dental care is needed right away. Rarely, a concussed tooth can die. This will happen after a few days or weeks. A tooth has died when it becomes darker than the other teeth.
• Crown Fracture Complication: this can be a cracked tooth with pulp exposure. There is most often a large piece of the tooth that is broken off. There also may be a small red dot or pink spot in the fractured area. This is the pulp. It is quite painful and is very sensitive to air and cold liquids. To help pain and prevent tooth damage, these fractures need to be treated right away. Most of these fractures will need a root canal.
• Chipped Tooth (no pulp exposure): this is a small painless chipped tooth. This should be looked at by a dentist in 24-72 hours.
• Cracked Tooth (infraction): this is a small hairline crack of a tooth. There is a thin fracture line without any missing piece of tooth. This should be looked at by a dentist in 24-72 hours.
• Intruded Tooth: the tooth has been pushed deeper into the gum and tooth socket. This should be looked at by a dentist in 24-72 hours.
• Loosened Tooth: this is also called subluxation. If there is only mild looseness, the tooth most often tightens up by itself. The gums may bleed a little.
• Loosened and Displaced Tooth (luxation): see a dentist. Displaced teeth that get in the way of biting, chewing or closing the mouth need to be moved back. This should be done within 4 hours. Mild displacement should be looked at by a dentist within 24 hours.

Pain Scale

• None: no pain. Pain score is 0 on a scale of 0 to 10.
• Mild: the pain does not keep you from work, school, or other normal activities. Pain score is 1-3 on a scale of 0 to 10.
• Moderate: the pain keeps you from working or going to school. It wakes you up from sleep. Pain score is 4-7 on a scale of 0 to 10.
• Severe: the pain is very bad. It may be worse than any pain you have had before. It keeps you from doing any normal activities. Pain score is 8-10 on a scale of 0 to 10.