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Emergency!
Where to look first when a tooth gets hurt or something urgent happens.
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Emergency!
A tooth has been pushed out of its normal position but is still in the mouth. This page explains what has happened and what a dentist may do. Guidance for the moment itself is being written by a pediatric dentist — until it is here, contact your dentist.
Call your dentist or your local emergency number.
This section is waiting for reviewed guidance. Step-by-step advice for the first few minutes is being written by a pediatric dentist and has deliberately not been drafted here. Until it appears, contact your dentist or your local emergency services — they can tell you what to do for your child now.
This section is waiting for reviewed guidance too. Things to avoid are as important as things to do, and both belong with the dentist who is writing them rather than with this website.
The tooth is still there but has been moved — pushed sideways, forwards, backwards, or partly out of its socket. The tissues holding it in place have been disturbed, which is why it may feel loose or sit oddly against the other teeth when the mouth closes.
This is a different injury from a tooth knocked out completely and from one driven up into the gum, and it is handled differently. If you are not sure which has happened, that is a reason to ring rather than to work it out.
The AAPD lists stabilisation and splinting among the surgical interventions that may be required for dental trauma — holding a displaced tooth steady while the tissues around it recover. It also lists repositioning-related options and, where a tooth cannot be saved, extraction. Assessment normally includes a clinical examination and radiographs, which show the root and the surrounding bone rather than only what is visible.
The AAPD notes that complex cases may involve referral to a specialist, and points to the International Association of Dental Traumatology guidelines for managing dental injuries.
Your tooth got bumped and moved a bit. The dentist can check it and help it settle back where it belongs.
Should we push it back? Do not act on guesswork. Moving a displaced tooth is a clinical decision and the tissues around it are already injured. Contact your dentist and describe what you can see. The reviewed guidance for what to do meanwhile will appear in the box above once written.
Contact your dentist and let them tell you. This page does not grade urgency, because that depends on the injury and on your child. If there is heavy bleeding, a wider facial injury, or your child seems unwell, contact your local emergency services.
Looseness after an injury is one of the things a dentist assesses, and it is a reason to be seen rather than a reason to wait and watch. Ordinary wobbliness in a baby tooth that is due to come out is a different matter — see Loose teeth.
That is a different injury with different considerations. See Tooth pushed into the gums.
Every clinical statement on this page comes from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry document below. The step-by-step guidance in the sections above is being written separately by a pediatric dentist and is not drawn from this source.
This website is for education only and does not replace care from your dentist, physician, or emergency services.