At Downtown Parker Dental, we’re proud to offer a wide variety of dental implants to our patients. These implants are restorative replacement teeth that support the mouth and oral care, helping previously misaligned or otherwise unhealthy mouths become more comfortable and functional.
While the chances of a filling, crown or dental implant falling out of the mouth are low, it’s still possible – often due to trauma or some kind of impact that knocks it out. Regardless of the reason, what should you do if you lose a crown or filling? Here are some basic tips we can offer on how to proceed if this happens to you.
Keep the Crown
As soon as you notice you’ve lost a filling or crown, your first step as long as you aren’t actively bleeding or in pain should be to attempt to locate the implant itself. In some cases, a thorough cleaning will allow your orthodontist to simply re-insert the same crown back in its proper location later on – this will come with less hassle and expense than getting a new one, so always locate the implant if you can.
If you fear you swallowed the implant, don’t panic. In most cases, it will pass without any issues. You should speak to a doctor if you believe you have breathed in the implant, however, as this can cause complications in the lungs that you’ll need attention for.
Call Us
After you’ve located the implant and stored it safely, call our dental offices to book an appointment as soon as possible. If it’s realistic, we’ll try to get you in that very same day. We can also help give you tips for caring for the tooth temporarily if you can’t get an appointment for a few days, some of which we’ll go over in our subsequent sections here.
Cleanliness
If losing a crown or filling has exposed the root or interior of your tooth, you should be very careful about the cleanliness of this area until you’re able to get into our offices for an appointment. When brushing the teeth – which you should still do, by the way – be very gentle around this area when removing any food debris. After eating, we recommend rinsing the mouth out with warm salt water to ensure any exposed areas are clean.
Temporary Protection
In addition, take some basic steps to protect the exposed tooth area. If you have the lost crown and it is intact, you might be able to clean it and slip it back in temporarily using dental cement found at a drug store
If this isn’t an option, consider purchasing dental wax and molding it over the gap area. This will provide a temporary seal against contaminants or impacts until you can get into our office.
On top of this, you should avoid certain foods while temporarily protecting your tooth area. Don’t eat sweets, hard foods, highly acidic or erosive foods or drinks, or any items with extreme temperatures.
Pain Relief
A crown or filling that falls out may come with pain, especially if nerves inside the tooth are exposed. Some possible solutions here include over-the-counter pain meds or applying clove oil to the tooth with a cotton swab.
For more on how to react if you lose a dental implant, or to learn about any of our other orthodontic services, speak to the staff at Downtown Parker Dental today.