A child has knocked out a whole tooth: What should I do for a baby or permanent tooth?

Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital calls it dental avulsion when a whole tooth comes out of its socket. When you call a hospital in China, give your child’s age and the time of injury. Say whether the whole tooth came out or a piece broke off. Ask whether the service can treat dental injuries now, and tell them if you cannot distinguish a baby tooth from a permanent tooth. Hospital dental trauma guide

Putting a knocked-out baby tooth back can harm the permanent tooth developing underneath. A knocked-out permanent tooth needs urgent assessment for reimplantation. If you find a tooth that may be permanent, hold it by the crown and avoid touching or scrubbing the root. You can keep it in milk on the way to the clinic. Keep it out of the child’s mouth during travel. Hospital dental trauma guide

The hospital guide explains that an X-ray may be needed to check for a retained root even when a baby tooth falls out. Tell the dentist if you could not find the tooth or if the child swallowed something or had a choking episode. If you are leaving the city, ask which follow-up should happen locally and request a copy of the findings and plan. Hospital dental trauma guide

My child knocked out a front tooth and I cannot find it. Do we still need urgent dental care?

Yes. Take your child for assessment. Tell the dentist that the tooth is missing, when the injury happened and whether there was choking or coughing. The dentist decides whether imaging is needed.