Your dream of maintaining that million dollar smile can be shattered by getting a tooth knocked out. Having a thumped out tooth is a painful experience and how successful the process of placing it back in its socket will be, depends on how soon you see a dentist.

The dental professional will examine the tooth and the root surface before they place the tooth back in its socket. Whether a tooth will be saved or not is determined by the method used to store it and the hours that the tooth spent out of your mouth. However, you can save your knocked-out tooth by following these tips.

1. Avoid picking up the tooth by its root and instead by its crown

Trace the knocked-out tooth immediately to avoid leaving it at the accident scene. Handle the tooth with much care and pick it up by its crown or the chewing surface to avoid injuring the root.

2. Use clean water to rinse the dirty tooth gently

It is wrong to use chemicals and soap to clean or rinse the knocked-out tooth without proper instructions from the dentist. Avoid scrubbing or drying the tooth as well as wrapping it with a dirty cloth and tissue. The tooth might collect germs from the dirty cloth and transfer them to the tooth socket from where you may develop other serious dental problems.

3. If you can, place the tooth back to its socket immediately

Placing the knocked-out tooth back to its socket immediately will increase its chance of survival. Use your fingers to push or reinsert the tooth in its socket carefully. You can gently bite down on the tooth or use your fingers to hold it in place. If the socket of the tooth is bleeding, don't insert a piece of bandage or material in it to soak blood and saliva.

4. Ensure the tooth is always moist

Don't leave the tooth outside your mouth to dry. If it is not possible to place the tooth back into its socket immediately, you should put it in the milk or emergency tooth preservation kit. Dentists do not recommend preservation of the knocked-out tooth using the regular tap water because it is harmful to the root surface cells of the tooth.

5. See a qualified dentist or endodontist within 30 minutes

You should take the tooth to the dentist within 30 minutes where possible. However, if the tooth will be out of your mouth for more than 30 minutes before you see a dentist, you can save it in your mouth next to your cheek.

If you a knocked-out tooth, you can apply the above tips to keep the tooth save before you see a dentist. This will increase the survival rate of the tooth after the dentist place it back in its socket. For more tips and suggestions consult clinics such as Bath Street Dental Practice.