What Is Dental Trauma?
Dental trauma is a severe injury to the teeth, gums, jawbone, lips, tongue, and other soft tissues of the mouth. These injuries range from minor to severe, and the most serious dental emergencies require prompt care.
Causes of a Traumatic Dental Injury
Severe dental injuries happen for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons are:
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Sports-related injuries
- Eating hard objects
While a sudden, forceful impact to the mouth and teeth is a leading cause of dental trauma, wear and tear caused by cavities can also cause dental fractures. Dentists at Thrive Dental can detect this damage during routine visits and treat it early to prevent further problems.
Symptoms of a Possible Dental Injury
Possible signs of a severe dental injury include:
- Mouth swelling
- Tooth, jaw, or mouth pain
- Bleeding from the mouth
- A discolored tooth
- A change in your bite
- A slightly loose tooth
- A dislodged tooth
- Knocked out tooth or teeth
- Difficulty opening your mouth
It is also possible to have dental trauma without obvious symptoms. It’s always best to see a dentist if you sustain a forceful impact to the mouth—even if you don’t have pain. With prompt treatment, Thrive Dental family dentists can potentially treat minor injuries before they require more advanced dental procedures.
Types of Traumatic Dental Injuries
Now, let’s look at common traumatic dental injuries we treat at Thrive Dental.
Chipped, Cracked, or Fractured Tooth
An impact on the tooth or mouth can cause a break or a fracture. Minor tooth fractures generally cause chipping on the outer enamel only. In this case, the risk to the soft tissue (pulp) underneath the enamel is minimal. These injuries are usually treated by placing a dental filling or crown over the tooth to restore its natural shape.
A deeper fracture involving the tooth enamel and the layer immediately beneath, called dentin, generally requires a filling or crown. This is important because the tooth becomes more susceptible to decay with prolonged exposure to dentin.
A root fracture is a more severe injury that reaches the soft tissue. If the tooth structure is significantly weakened and cannot be effectively rebuilt with restorative dentistry, a root canal or total extraction may be needed.
Loose Tooth
This injury, called dental subluxation, happens when a tooth is loosened but not displaced from its socket. A patient with dental subluxation may have slight sensitivity when the tooth is touched and/or some bleeding along the gum line.
In some cases, subluxation heals on its own. But you should always call Thrive Dental if you have a loose tooth from an accident. We may splint the affected tooth to the surrounding teeth to stabilize it while it heals. In the following months, we continue to monitor the injured tooth with exams and X-rays to assess the condition of the pulp and ensure the tooth remains healthy.
Displaced Tooth
A dislodged or luxated tooth occurs when the tissues and/or bone that support it are injured. A luxated tooth is often displaced into another position in the mouth. Compared to other teeth, it may appear noticeably shorter or taller than surrounding teeth. A luxated tooth can also be moved sideways, backward, forward, or rotated.
Luxation symptoms vary from patient to patient, depending on the nature of the injury. If you have a displaced tooth, you may experience:
- Tooth loosening
- Tooth sensitivity, tenderness, or pain
- Bleeding around the gums
It may be possible to save a luxated tooth. If it has been dislodged from the socket, we will reposition it back into place and stabilize it with a splint. If the pulp has been damaged, root canal therapy may be necessary. We typically schedule frequent checkups in the months and years to follow to monitor for pulp inflammation or damage.
Knocked-Out Tooth
An avulsed tooth is one that has been completely knocked out of its socket or out of the mouth. Dental avulsions often involve the teeth at the front of the mouth in the upper and lower jaw. Pain, bleeding, and a visible gap are common signs of an avulsed tooth. This type of dental trauma requires emergency care.
It’s helpful to know what steps to take if you or someone you know has a tooth knocked out from playing sports, a vehicle accident, or other type of forceful injury. If you can, place the dislodged tooth back into the socket as soon as possible and keep the area moist. Call Thrive Dental for an emergency dental visit. If we are unavailable, go to the nearest emergency room or urgent care facility for treatment.
Children’s Tooth Injuries
Between all the sports and activities kids participate in, it’s probably no surprise that dental injuries are prevalent. In fact, research shows nearly half of children will experience some injury to a tooth at some point.
While we cannot protect kids from every bump and bruise, children’s dentists at Thrive Dental & Orthodontics are ready to help when the unexpected occurs. We provide safe and effective treatment for tooth pain, dental fractures, knocked-out teeth, and other dental trauma.
From the moment your child steps into the office, our team treats them with care and compassion, providing blankets, pillows, TV, and other comforts to make their experience as comfortable and pleasant as possible.
Dental trauma is more common than you might expect due to falls, car wrecks, and other unforeseen accidents. Dentists at Thrive Dental & Orthodontics carefully evaluate dental injuries to determine the best course of treatment. Whenever possible, we work to save your tooth or use restorative dentistry to give you your old smile back.
Call or book an appointment online. We have locations in Frisco, Allen, Sachse, Richardson, and Dallas, Texas.
