I Just Lost a Tooth What Should I Do Next

Losing a tooth at the age of 5 can be very exciting. But losing one at the age of 25, 35, 45, or 55? Not so much!

If you just lost a tooth, you should know that this has become very common among American adults. In fact, one recent report revealed that the average American loses 12 teeth (including wisdom teeth) by the time they turn 50.

With this in mind, you shouldn’t panic too much if you ever find yourself saying, “I just lost a tooth.” But you should spring into action right away and learn about your replacing a lost tooth options. Otherwise, you’re eventually going to end up walking around with missing teeth because a tooth fell out.

Here is what you should do in the immediate aftermath of losing a tooth.

Start by Trying to Find the Tooth That You Lost

If you’ve ever lost a tooth before, you know that it doesn’t take very long to realize it. You’re going to feel a big gap in your mouth almost right away.

If you ever feel this sensation, you should try to find the tooth that you lost immediately. It’s going to be important for you to have your missing tooth on you when you head down to your dentist’s office.

In some cases, you might find your missing tooth right in your mouth. But in other instances, it might be lodged in something that you were eating or even on the ground.

Whatever the case, you shouldn’t rest until you’re able to locate your missing tooth. Finding it will be of the utmost importance.

Check to See If the Socket for Your Missing Tooth Is Bleeding

In addition to looking for your missing tooth when you lose it, you should also sneak a quick peek at your mouth to see if the socket for your missing tooth is bleeding. Oftentimes, the socket for a missing tooth is going to begin gushing blood almost right away.

You don’t want to allow this socket to bleed for any longer than it has to. It’s going to result in a big mess if you aren’t careful.

You should take some dry cotton balls or gauze pads and use them to get the bleeding from the socket under control. The bleeding should stop within a few minutes as long as you address the issue without hesitation.

Rinse the Tooth That Fell Out Off

If you lost a tooth and it fell onto the floor, you’ll want to rinse it off right away. You should try to get any dirt or other debris off the tooth as soon as you can.

You might also want to consider sticking the tooth into either a saline solution or maybe even some milk. These things can be used to kill any germs that might get onto a tooth when it’s sitting on the ground. You won’t have to worry about getting an infection when you clean a tooth off after it falls out.

Place the Tooth Back Into Its Socket

After you’ve lost a tooth, you’re going to want to get it back into your mouth as soon as possible. And you don’t necessarily need to wait until you get to a dentist’s office to do it.

Once you’ve cleaned the tooth off, you can put it back into your mouth in its socket. This will provide both the root of your tooth and the tissues in your gums protection until you’re able to see a dentist.

The saliva in your mouth will work wonders for the tooth. It will help to preserve it and provide it with the protection it needs so that it doesn’t get infected.

Just make sure that you put some gauze down on top of the tooth and bite down on it so that it stays in place. You don’t want to have it moving around too much while you’re on the way to get checked out by your dentist.

Take a Trip to Your Dentist’s Office ASAP

The moment that you recognize that you’ve lost a tooth, you should get your dentist’s office on the phone so that you can make an appointment with them. You aren’t going to want to waste a second when it comes to getting treatment from your dentist.

As long as your dentist offers emergency dental services, you should be able to go right down to see them. They’ll be able to evaluate your lost tooth to see whether or not they can salvage it.

More often than not, you’re only going to have about an hour to have a lost tooth reattached. If you wait longer than that, there is a good chance that you’re going to have to look into other options.

Something like same day dental implants might be an option for you if your dentist doesn’t think it’s worth trying to reattach your tooth. You should speak with your dentist about these types of implants and see if they might be a good fit for you.

It’s pretty amazing to see how far dental technology has come over the years. People don’t have to worry about walking around with missing teeth anymore if they don’t want to do it.

If You Lost a Tooth, You Should Take Each of These Steps Quickly

You aren’t going to have a minute to spare when you see that you’ve lost a tooth. If you wait too long to do anything about it, it might very well be too late by the time you get to see a dentist.

Rather than running the risk of losing a tooth for good, people should always take each of the steps that we just talked about quickly. It could very well help you to save a tooth that has fallen out.

Want to get some more tips on how to take better care of your teeth? Read through the rest of our blog articles to find them.