Look Like a Jack-o-Lantern? Here’s How to Save Your Knocked-Out Tooth

A jack-o-lantern is a great costume idea for Halloween. However, if you’re stuck looking like an actual carved pumpkin due to a lost tooth, you’ve got a serious dental emergency on your hands. 

Unfortunately, when an adult tooth is knocked out, it’s not a cause to rejoice, like losing a baby tooth. While a lost primary tooth will be replaced by an adult one, a permanent tooth won’t. There’s also a high risk that the tooth will lose its vitality and not be able to be put back at all. 

So, if you’ve found yourself with a spooky-looking smile this Halloween season, our team, led by endodontist Robert Scott Nance, DDS, MS, PA, at his self-named practice, wants you to know that we offer services for traumatic dental injuries. 

This month’s blog reviews what to do with your knocked-out tooth so you can preserve your natural smile. 

Always act quickly

When a tooth gets knocked out, the most important thing is to take the proper steps immediately. Within five minutes, a tooth can start to lose its vitality and chances of being successfully re-implanted. After 60 minutes, the chances of effective treatment are slim.

Locate the tooth quickly. After you’ve found the tooth, contact our office immediately to schedule an emergency dental visit and learn what you need to do before you arrive. 

Preserve your tooth

After you’ve located your tooth and called our office, keep it safe until you arrive. Placing it back into the now-empty socket is the best way to preserve your tooth and promote its survival. 

If the tooth is dirty, briefly rinse it first with tap water or milk. However, don’t scrub it or pat it dry with cloths or paper towels. After it’s clean, very gingerly pick it up by the crown (never the root), place it back in the socket, and gently bite down to keep it in place. 

If you can’t place it back in the socket, you can preserve the tooth by putting it in a cup of milk to keep it moist as you travel to us. Never keep it in water since your tooth roots can’t be exposed to water for that long. 

Get your tooth reimplanted

As long as you take all the precautionary steps, Dr. Nance will most likely be able to reimplant your tooth. In some cases, he may need to perform root canal therapy to clean decayed or diseased tissue before putting your tooth back in. 

To avoid a permanently spooky grin, schedule an emergency dental appointment immediately after losing a tooth by calling our Statesville or Hickory, North Carolina, office.