We were at my son’s school basketball game and one of the kid’s front teeth was knocked out by a player’s elbow. The coach had someone get a glass of milk to put it in but then everyone went back to playing. Can putting a tooth in a glass of milk for someone mean it can be fixed?
Deanne
Hi Deanne,
Sports sure can be hard on teeth, can’t they? I’m glad you wrote. While the coach was partially right, he was missing a crucial step. Keeping the tooth moist in a glass of milk is useful. This is because it is important to keep the root of the tooth moist. However, the second component to that is time. This is an emergency dental situation. Ideally, you’d want to get to the dentist within 30 minutes to an hour (at the most) to give the tooth its best chance at being reattached.
Some other things to bear in mind are never to touch the root. Only hold the tooth by the crown. Because time is of the essence here, you will want to call the dental office ahead of time. Let them know exactly what happened so they can be ready for you when you arrive.
What If The Tooth Cannot Be Saved?
If the tooth cannot be saved, all is not lost. There are fantastic tooth replacements these days. I would start with an inexpensive temporary tooth replacement, such as a dental flipper until his jaw is completely developed. Then, when he is old enough, you can get him a dental implant. This has a prosthetic tooth root with a dental crown anchored to it. Dental implants are the top of the line in tooth replacements and are the closest thing to having a healthy natural tooth again.
I don’t know if your son currently has a sports mouthguard, but if he doesn’t I would highly recommend getting one. This will help prevent this kind of dental emergency from happening to begin with, bringing a lot of peace of mind. While some kids balk at the over-the-counter ones saying they are uncomfortable, you can get one custom fit to his bite by his dentist.
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.