My brother and I were wrestling and he accidentally fell onto the piano bench. It broke his tooth. We weren’t supposed to be wrestling. My parents are out of town for four more days. I’d like to fix this before they get back. I’ve got a call in to our dentist, but haven’t heard back and it has been several hours. I wondered if I could superglue his tooth back while I am waiting.
Bennie H. – Missouri
Bennie,
You can superglue as a temporary solution, but there is a danger of accidentally getting your lip glued to the tooth as well. I would make a quick run to your local pharmacy and get some denture adhesive paste. That would be a safer option.
You didn’t mention how old your brother his or whether or not this was an adult or baby tooth. That could make a difference in treatment. I want you to get seen right away even if you do not hear back from your dentist. Give your dentist another hour or so and then if you’ve still not heard back I want you to see an emergency dentist in your area.
Emergency dentists tend to keep a little wiggle room in their daily schedule so they can fit someone in. If they are booked solid, they will even see you after hours. Don’t neglect this, because there are other things that could go wrong with his tooth aside from re-attachment issue. Tooth trauma could kill the nerve endings. He may end up needing a root canal treatment.
By the way, if you’ve got the entire piece that broke off, a good cosmetic dentist can bond it back on in such a way that no one will be able to tell it was ever broken.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.