Dental Trauma Management
Dental trauma is any damage to a tooth caused by a sports impact injury, auto accident, or even a simple fall. Sometimes, the injury is visible, such as a cracked or loose tooth; in other cases, you can't see it, but there can be internal damage to the pulp tissue inside the tooth.
Dr. Shane Curtis and Dr. Darrell Curtis are endodontists with advanced training and skill in dental trauma management. They help patients with these injuries all the time and know they can be scary, painful, and unsettling.
You can rely on our specialists and caring professional team to give comfort and reassurance, evaluate the condition, and provide expert treatment to save the tooth if possible.
Common Types of Dental Trauma We Treat
We have described below some of the most common examples of dental trauma and their treatment. You are also welcome to call our Camp Hill, PA, endodontist's office if you have questions about an injury you don't see listed here.
Cracked Tooth
Repairing a chipped, fractured, or broken tooth is crucial as these injuries provide an access point for bacteria to enter the tooth’s pulp and cause an infection. If the injury doesn’t involve the tooth’s pulp, the solution may be repairing the damage with a composite tooth filling or dental crown.
If the damage to the tooth exposes the pulp, we would likely recommend root canal treatment as the best way to prevent infection and save the tooth. After healing, your dentist will protect the tooth with a filling or dental crown so you can use it again for chewing.
Loose or Partially Dislodged Tooth
Dental trauma includes a tooth that is luxated, i.e., pushed sideways or jammed back into its socket. This dental injury is considered an emergency, and it is imperative that you contact your dentist or endodontist right away.
The first step is to stabilize the tooth in its socket and then have our endodontists evaluate the situation to determine if root canal treatment can save it.
Knocked-Out Tooth
A knocked-out or avulsed tooth is a critical dental emergency, and seeing you within an hour or less of your injury provides our best chance of saving it.
Call your dentist or our Camp Hill, PA, endodontist’s office immediately so we know you’re on your way.
Handle the tooth by the crown, and do not touch the root or any attached tissue. You can rinse the tooth with warm water if it’s dirty, but don’t scrub it.
Ideally, you should reinsert the tooth in its socket to keep it moist; if this is not possible, hold it inside your mouth between your cheek and gums, or place it in a container of milk or saliva.
Help for Your Traumatic Dental Injury
Prompt attention is the key to successful treatment for a traumatic dental injury, and the team at Curtis Endodontics is ready to help you with your needs. Please contact us if you have suffered dental trauma and need expert care from an endodontist in Camp Hill, PA.
Dr. Darrell and Dr. Shane are caring and compassionate and will do everything to provide reassurance and save your injured tooth.
