Have you sustained trauma to your tooth?

It does not have to be a major injury to cause lasting damage to your tooth or teeth. It is advisable to have the tooth or affected area checked out as soon as possible following an injury.

Types of Tooth Trauma

• Crown Fracture - may involve only tooth structure or it may expose the pulp (nerve) of the tooth.

• Root Fracture - complete or partial fracture within the root of the tooth.

• Concussion - think of a bruise on the tooth. There is no displacement or mobility but there is pain upon touching the tooth

• Subluxation - injury that results in mobility of the tooth without displacement. The tooth may be painful to touch and will also have some wiggle to it

• Luxation - injury resulting in displacement of the tooth. The displacement can be lateral, intrusive, or extrusive.

• Avulsion - complete loss of the tooth (knocked out).

An endodontist may not always be the first person to manage the emergency treatment of the trauma (i.e. replanting, repositioning, or splinting a tooth), but they should be consulted ASAP after an injury. Timely management of dental trauma can help save a tooth and avoid unnecessary damage. Consultation with an endodontist should be done within 1 week of the injury.