Traumatic Dental Injuries Specialist

What are some of the common traumatic dental injuries?

Traumatic dental injuries are common in patients who play contact sports or who have been involved in car accidents. You might also sustain a dental injury in a slip-and-fall accident or from something as simple as biting down too hard.

• Dislodged teeth (tooth is pushed into its socket)
  
• Avulsed teeth (tooth is completely knocked out of its socket)
  
• Cracked, chipped, or broken teeth
  
• Severe bleeding from the soft tissue in your mouth

Any traumatic damage to a tooth needs rapid attention from experts like Dr. Nance and his team. 

What should I do if I have a traumatic dental injury?

If you have a dental injury, call Dr. Nance’s office and explain the situation to get personalized advice. They may tell you to come into one of the offices for immediate treatment, or provide instructions on how to take care of your tooth until you see Dr. Nance. Whenever possible, Dr. Nance and his team offer same-day emergency appointments. 

If you knock out a tooth, carefully pick it up, only touching the crown of the tooth. Gently rinse the tooth and, if possible, place it back in its socket or between your cheek and gum. If you can’t put the tooth back in your mouth, put it in a small sealed container of milk or an emergency tooth preservation kit like Save-a-Tooth®. It’s critical to keep your tooth moist, but don’t put your tooth in water — the surface of the root can’t take extended exposure to the chemicals in the water.

Make your way to either the Hickory or Statesville office, and Dr. Nance or another experienced member of his team will replant your tooth. You should get treatment as quickly as possible to increase your chances of saving your tooth. 

How are traumatic dental injuries treated?

Dr. Nance and his team provide customized treatments for traumatic dental injuries. They can replant, reposition, and stabilize dislodged or avulsed teeth. If necessary, they offer root canal treatments to remove any damaged or decayed tissue to reduce your risk of infection. 

If your child has a traumatic dental injury, Dr. Nance offers apexogenesis and apexification to protect their developing tooth roots. These treatments both help save the tooth and prevent future endodontic problems by sealing the apex (tip) of the tooth root.

If you or your child have sustained a traumatic dental injury, call Dr. Nance or make an appointment online.