Dental trauma occurs when an injury affects a tooth or the surrounding tissues. Put simply, the teeth are not the only structures that can be affected by the injury.
In this blog, we examine traumatic dental injuries. Keep reading to explore the causes of dental trauma and how these injuries are treated and prevented.
What Is Dental Trauma?
Dental trauma refers to an injury affecting one or more structures of the teeth or tissues surrounding the mouth. The injury may involve:
- Visible tooth crown
- The tooth root
- Internal tissues such as the dental pulp
- Periodontal ligament that supports the tooth
- The surrounding alveolar bone
- The gums
- Other soft tissues
The dental trauma can be minor or severe. For example, a tooth may have a small fracture of the crown. In other cases, an impact may displace the tooth or injure several structures at the same time.
Common Causes of Dental Trauma
What causes dental trauma? This section covers the common causes.
Falls and Everyday Accidents
Almost everyone is at risk of falls and everyday accidents. You may fall:
- At home
- At school
- At work
- During routine recreational activities.
Falls and accidents are common causes of dental trauma.
Children are at higher risk. Falls can happen as they learn to walk or during everyday activities. Older adults are also prone to imbalance and can fall because of instability.
Sports-Related Dental Injuries
In sports like hockey, basketball, football, soccer, and martial arts, dental trauma can occur due to direct blows to the mouth. In these sports, collisions between players and falls can result in serious dental injuries. In addition to these sports, cycling can also cause dental injuries, particularly when a rider falls or collides with another object.
Using a mouthguard helps cushion impacts and protect the teeth and surrounding soft tissues. However, mouthguard use may be less common in some sports, including soccer and basketball.
Vehicle and Workplace Accidents
Car accidents can cause dental trauma as part of a broader facial injury. The same applies to workplace accidents.
Generally speaking, a high-impact accident may damage the teeth, jaws, facial bones, gums, and other soft tissues at the same time. For example, motor vehicle collisions or injuries involving heavy machinery in the workplace are recognized causes of facial and dental trauma.
Biting Hard Objects and Using Teeth as Tools
Using teeth as tools or biting hard objects can cause an acute dental injury, such as a chipped or fractured tooth. We always recommend that our patients avoid biting hard candy, ice, unpopped popcorn kernels, or other hard foods or objects, such as a pen.
These habits can cause gradual damage rather than a single traumatic injury. These habits include:
- Chewing hard objects
- Clenching or grinding the teeth
- Using teeth to open packages
- Using teeth to cut materials or hold objects
Repeatedly engaging in these habits adds stress to tooth structure and can contribute to cracks or chips over time.
6 Types of Dental Trauma
Let’s discuss different types of dental trauma and their characteristics:
1. Enamel and Crown Fractures
This is a relatively superficial injury limited to the tooth’s enamel.
An enamel fracture can look like a small chip or loss of enamel. As a result, it may leave a sharp edge in some cases.
Additionally, a more extensive crown fracture may involve a larger portion of the visible tooth and may expose the dentin, or the dental pulp in more severe cases. Exposed dentin can make the tooth sensitive to temperature or touch.
Read more: “How Much Is a Dental Crown Without Insurance? A 2026 Cost Breakdown”
2. Crown-Root and Root Fractures
These injuries are often not fully visible during a routine examination because part of the fracture can extend below the gumline or through the root. Put simply, a crown-root fracture extends from the crown into the root, crossing the gumline and involving enamel, dentin, and cementum.
On the other hand, a root fracture happens within the root itself and may be located in its middle or apical portion.
Tooth mobility or pain when biting can be symptoms of a crown-root or root fracture. That said, these signs cannot show the extent or location of the injury.
3. Concussion and Subluxation Injuries
If your tooth is tender to the touch or tapping, it may indicate a dental concussion, typically because the periodontal ligament has been affected. This usually occurs when a tooth is injured without visible displacement or increased mobility.
In subluxation, the tooth becomes abnormally mobile but remains in its normal position. You may also experience bleeding from the gums with this injury.
Read more: “How to Restore Gum Health and Prevent Gum Disease Naturally”
4. Displaced Teeth
Dental trauma can change the normal tooth position within its socket, and it is usually a sign of luxation injuries, which can include:
- Extrusion: The tooth appears partially pulled out.
- Lateral luxation: The tooth moves sideways.
- Intrusion: The tooth pushes further into the socket.
5. Knocked-Out Teeth
An avulsion occurs when a tooth is completely displaced from its socket. We consider this type of trauma a dental emergency that needs prompt care to improve the chances of preserving the natural tooth.
6. Soft-Tissue and Supporting-Bone Injuries
Traumatic dental injury can extend beyond the tooth itself and affect the gums, lips, cheeks, or other soft tissues. This may include cuts or bleeding in surrounding areas.
In more severe injuries, the supporting bone may also be fractured. For this reason, dental trauma may require an assessment of the surrounding area, not just the tooth, to identify all injuries.
Dental Trauma First Aid by Injury Type
Follow these steps for different types of dental trauma.
What to Do for a Chipped or Broken Tooth
Treat a chipped or broken tooth as follows:
- Rinse your mouth with water to clear away debris.
- Save any tooth fragments for your dental appointment.
- Use a cold compress if swelling develops.
- Avoid chewing on the injured side.
- Even if the damage seems minor, contact your dentist immediately.
Never use glue to attach a fragment back onto the tooth yourself.
What to Do for a Loose or Displaced Tooth
Avoid touching or pushing a loose or displaced tooth, as this can worsen the injury. Only try to reposition a displaced tooth if a dentist has specifically instructed you to do so.
Chewing on the affected side can also increase the damage. Try to use the other side of your mouth until you visit a dentist and receive professional care. Applying a cold compress to the outside of the cheek can also help reduce swelling from this type of dental trauma.
Contact your dentist promptly, because the tooth may need to be repositioned and stabilized professionally.
What to Do for a Knocked-Out Permanent Tooth
Pick up the knocked-out permanent tooth by the crown, not the root. Rinse it with water if it is dirty, without scrubbing or scraping. If possible, carefully reinsert the tooth into its socket and hold it in place by firmly biting on clean gauze or cloth.
Remember: Contact your dentist immediately. For a knocked-out permanent tooth, prompt care is crucial.
Experiencing Dental Trauma? Call Us Now!
Whether minor or severe, a dentist should assess the dental trauma. For more serious cases, emergency care is necessary.
If you have a dental injury that also affects your head or neck, contact us promptly and let us know what happened.
What to Do for a Knocked-Out Baby Tooth
Unlike a knocked-out permanent tooth, a knocked-out baby tooth should not be placed back into its socket. Replacing it in the socket can damage the developing tooth underneath. Schedule a visit with your child’s dentist to evaluate the injured tooth, because a professional dental specialist must check the injured area to identify additional injuries.
What to Do for Cuts and Oral Bleeding
As explained earlier, a cut or bleeding can result from dental trauma.
For a cut inside the mouth, use clean gauze or a clean cloth. Place it over the area and apply firm, steady pressure for at least 10 minutes. Keep in mind that repeatedly removing the gauze to check the wound may disturb the clot, so this should be avoided.
If bleeding continues or is heavy, seek emergency medical care. Also, when the injury involves serious damage to the face or jaw, severe swelling, difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, vomiting, or double vision, seek emergency medical care instantly.
When Is Dental Trauma a Dental Emergency?
No matter the type of dental trauma, you should always contact your dentist promptly. However, some cases are more severe and require professional emergency care without waiting for a routine dental appointment.
This section explains when seeking emergency dental care is necessary and when contacting your dentist may be sufficient.
Contact a Dentist Urgently
These types of traumatic dental injuries require you to contact your dentist promptly:
- Knocked-out permanent tooth
- Loose or displaced tooth
- Large fracture
- Visible pink or red tissue inside the tooth
- Severe pain
- A change in your bite
- Bleeding around the tooth
Moreover, discoloration may indicate changes within the injured tooth. This means a tooth that becomes dark after an injury should also be examined.
Seek Emergency Medical Care
More severe injuries that can affect the head or neck typically require emergency medical care. Given that, take these types of injuries more seriously:
- Loss of consciousness
- Confusion
- Vomiting after a head injury
- Difficulty breathing or swallowing
- A suspected jaw or facial fracture
- Uncontrolled bleeding
- A major facial laceration
- A serious neck injury
These symptoms indicate that the patient may need medical assessment beyond dental treatment.
Can Dental Trauma Be Serious Without Pain?
Yes. Even a serious dental trauma may not cause significant pain at first, but still be dangerous.
For example, an injured tooth can have pulp damage or a root fracture without causing much discomfort. This is because some complications, such as pulp necrosis, may develop later.
This is why we recommend having a dentist examine the tooth after an injury, even when it appears minor.
How Dentists Evaluate Dental Trauma
First, we ask how and when the injury occurred and check whether the affected tooth is primary or permanent. Then, we check for any changes in:
- Tooth position
- Tooth mobility
- Sensitivity
- Bite
Also, we examine gums, lips, cheeks, and other surrounding tissues to see if there are additional injuries.
In many cases, dental radiographs are necessary to assess the condition of the pulp and tooth roots. This helps to identify fractures and displacements.
Note that dental trauma usually requires ongoing monitoring after the initial examination, as some symptoms may develop over time and reveal the full extent of the injury.
Possible Treatments for Dental Trauma
Different types of dental trauma need different treatments. The location and severity of the injury also affect the appropriate treatment. While some injuries can be treated with restoration alone, others may need stabilization or pulp treatment.
Common treatments for traumatic dental injuries include:
- Restoring chipped teeth: Dental bonding or a filling can repair minor chips or crown fractures.
- Stabilizing displaced teeth: Loose or displaced teeth can be repositioned and stabilized with a splint.
- Managing pulp damage: If dental trauma damages the pulp inside a tooth, treatment may include pulp therapy or root canal treatment. The tooth may then need a suitable restoration.
- Replacing teeth that cannot be saved: In some cases, the damage goes beyond restoration and extraction becomes necessary. Depending on the circumstances, the missing tooth can later be replaced with a dental implant or another tooth-replacement option.
Why Follow-Up After Dental Trauma Matters
Even when a tooth seems to have healed after dental trauma, complications may develop later. This is why follow-ups are crucial to assess the outcome of treatment.
After initial treatment, the dentist monitors pulp vitality, tooth color, mobility, and any signs of infection or pulp necrosis for a while. With the help of dental radiographs, they can see changes that may not be visible during a routine examination, such as root resorption.
This is especially important when a permanent tooth is still developing, as the injury can affect continued root development.
The timing and frequency of follow-ups vary based on:
- The type of injury
- The tooth’s stage of development
- The type of treatment
- Clinical findings.
For example, some patients may need monitoring for several years depending on the type and extent of the injury, while others may only need a few months of monitoring.
Dental Trauma in Children
The dentist first determines whether the injured tooth is primary or permanent. As discussed, treating a knocked-out primary tooth is different from treating a knocked-out permanent tooth. The latter may sometimes be replanted in some cases, while a knocked-out primary tooth should not be pushed back into its socket. This is because you may damage the developing permanent tooth underneath.
Parents should have their children evaluated by a dentist after dental trauma, even when there is no pain.
How to Prevent Dental Injuries
These measures can help reduce the risk of dental trauma.
Use a Proper Sports Mouthguard
During sports and activities where falls or impacts are possible, wearing a properly fitted mouthguard can reduce the risk of dental and oral injuries. That said, this protective gear cannot fully eliminate the risk of dental trauma.
Note that it is important that the mouthguard fits securely and stays in place during activity. A secure fit helps provide effective protection.
Avoid Using Teeth as Tools
Using your teeth to open packages and bottles is a destructive habit that can seriously damage your teeth and cause traumatic injuries. Also, chewing and holding hard materials with your teeth can place excessive force on them and have the same negative effect.
Reduce Fall and Collision Risks
Earlier, we mentioned falls and accidents as a common cause of dental trauma. So, reducing falls and collisions can lower the risk of dental injuries.
Using appropriate protective equipment during sports and wearing a seat belt in cars can help reduce this risk. Also, make homes safer for children and older adults to prevent them from falling.
To reduce the risk of workplace injuries, follow safety procedures and use recommended protective equipment for tasks that involve falls or facial injuries. Although these measures cannot prevent every accident, they can significantly reduce the risk of dental injuries.
Address Tooth Grinding
Grinding or clenching can lead to tooth wear and cracks over time. These habits cause damage through repeated stress, rather than as acute dental trauma caused by a single event.
Talk to your dentist about ways to protect your teeth from grinding and clenching. If suitable, you can use a night guard that is helpful in reducing damage caused by grinding during sleep.
Need Treatment for a Dental Injury in Newmarket?
In this article, we discussed dental trauma treatment and causes in detail to help you understand what to do after experiencing a minor or severe dental injury.
If you are in Newmarket and experiencing dental trauma, our dentists at Leslie North Dental can help you with the appropriate treatment based on your specific situation. Contact us to schedule an appointment.
FAQ
Can a chipped tooth heal on its own?
No. Lost enamel or dentin does not grow back, although a small chip may not require extensive restoration and can sometimes simply be monitored. Dental bonding or another restoration may be recommended if the damage affects function, appearance, or is at risk of progressing.
How quickly should I see a dentist after a tooth injury?
The urgency depends on the injury: a minor chip may not require emergency care, while a knocked-out or displaced tooth requires immediate dental assessment. Significant fractures, bleeding, pain, or other changes should also be evaluated promptly because some complications may develop later.
Can a baby tooth be put back in?
No. A knocked-out primary tooth should not be replanted because reimplantation can damage the developing permanent tooth underneath.
Why is my tooth turning grey after an injury?
Grey or dark discoloration after dental trauma can result from changes inside the tooth, including bleeding within the pulp. However, it does not automatically mean the pulp has become necrotic. A dental examination and follow-up can help determine whether the tooth is healing or developing a complication.
Can dental trauma require a root canal later?
Yes. Trauma can damage the dental pulp, and some injured teeth later develop pulp necrosis or infection that requires root canal treatment. Pulp testing and follow-up help determine whether endodontic treatment is needed, rather than assuming every traumatized tooth requires a root canal.
