Dental Trauma
Port Angeles, WA
Dental Trauma Surgery provided by Stephen J. Turella, DMD
in Port Angeles, WA at Turella Oral Surgery
 It might seem scary if you or a loved one suddenly loses a tooth while playing football, or cracks a tooth while walking down the street.
It does not have to be though, thanks to our excellent team at Turella Oral Surgery, who are equipped and trained to handle all manner of dental traumas.
If you or your child suffers a dental trauma, stay calm, and call our Port Angeles, WA office right away.
What Causes a Dental Trauma?
There are many different things that can cause dental trauma. Dental trauma often happens as a result of accidents, including vehicular accidents, sports injuries, and work incidents.
One of the main ones is playing sports without a mouth guard. If you are an athlete, let us know so that we can create a custom sports mouth guard that will protect your teeth in the case of trauma.
What Are the Types of Dental Trauma?
Dental traumas typically occur to permanent, adult teeth. Because of the physical nature of most traumas, this might involve teeth being cracked, broken, chipped, loosened, or completely knocked free.
Sometimes, teeth are actually pushed into the jawbone itself, which can cause further facial and bone injuries that might require oral surgery.
How We Treat Dental Traumas
We treat every dental trauma differently because the circumstances are always unique. Much of our approach depends on whether the victim of the dental trauma is a child or an adult.
Dental Trauma in Children
If your child has suffered from dental trauma, you need to make sure that he or she does not feel your fear. Children pick up on these things. In many cases, we will deal with trauma in a child differently than a trauma for an adult.
Many times, with dental trauma in children, we might decide not to do anything. If a baby tooth is loose due to the trauma, we might just leave it alone. In some cases, we might decide to extract the tooth, but then we will not do anything else. This is often the case if the adult tooth will be erupting soon.
Children often do not deal as well with the discomfort and shock of a dental trauma, but the final results can actually be less severe for children.
Dental trauma that occurs to a baby tooth is not as big a concern as trauma that occurs to a permanent tooth, and we may even decide that no further treatment is necessary after we have cleaned up your child's mouth.
Dental Trauma in Adults
We will often handle dental trauma differently in adults and older children than those who are younger. That is because adults do not have a new set of teeth that are going to come in. If the tooth is loose due to the trauma, we might steady it so that it will not get worse, and so it can heal.
When it is a permanent tooth at risk, we do everything possible to try and save the tooth, so it is important to make an effort to find and preserve the tooth.
Sometimes, despite everyone's best efforts, a permanent tooth cannot be saved. In this event, we will explain all of your options and help you decide which replacement is best for you. Dental implants are a popular choice as they provide the same function and can help prevent premature aging due to bone loss.
What You Can Do if a Dental Trauma Occurs
If a dental trauma occurs the best thing that you can do is keep a calm head. It can be easy to panic, but by staying calm and moving quickly, we can often save a damaged tooth or even replace a lost one.
If the trauma involves a missing tooth, be sure to locate the tooth and save it. Handle the tooth with care - touching the bottom, or root, of the tooth can make it impossible to put it back. If possible, place the tooth in a solution of saliva, milk, or salt water and then head to our office as fast as possible.
Call Your Oral Surgeon in Port Angeles, WA Today For Help With Dental Trauma!
When dealing with a dental trauma, the most important thing is to stay calm and act rapidly. Call Turella Oral Surgery at once at (360) 912-8244 and explain the situation in as much detail as you can. We will then give you further instructions. |
