Show #313 Airing: Sunday, October 2, 2005
Everyone wants their looks to be a “knock out.” But what if your teeth are accidentally knocked out, or chipped? Your beautiful smile might be k-o’d. Here to explain how to avoid losing out in the dental ring is the Mohammed Ali of restorative dentistry, Dr. Steven Marsh.
Question: Dr. Marsh, the last time you were on, you showed us a picture of a man who had fallen out the ice and chipped his teeth.
Answer: Yes. And we received several calls wanting to know about what can be done if an accident occurred, especially if teeth are chipped or even knocked out.
In the case of the first gentleman, we used veneers to fix the chipped teeth.
Question: What about if teeth are knocked out? Does that happen often? What should you do if that occurs?
Answer: Teeth are often knocked out, completely at the root, through falls. For children, this often happens while riding bicycles, playing sports, or in swimming pools. For adults, falling and racquetball are major causes.
If teeth fall out, do NOT clean them. There are fibers on the root that can reconnect to the mouth if they are not cleaned away. Put them in water or milk to keep them moist. Get to a dentist within a half hour to an hour.
In this example, a young girl was playing volleyball and knocked her front teeth out. We put them back in her mouth and bonded them to the surrounding teeth. They took root again.
Question: What if you don’t save the teeth for re-attachment?
Answer: In this example, a hockey player had a tooth knocked out. He was in a tournament in Michigan and stayed, so the tooth couldn’t be re-attached. Instead, we used bonding and a bridge.
Question: What if a tooth is chipped? Should we save the chipped off part of the tooth?
Answer: Sometimes, if the chipped portion is saved, it can be re-bonded to the tooth. That’s what happened in this example, where the patient fell off a bicycle.
In this example, a tooth was fractured. Bonding fixed the chip; veneers did not need to be used.
Humpty Dumpty couldn’t be put back together again. But today’s dentistry can make your broken or chipped teeth look good as new. For more information, give Dr. Marsh at call.
