Should You Put A Knocked-Out Tooth In A Glass Of Milk?

Seeing one of your permanent teeth knocked out can surely make your heart race. But if it happens to your child, then that anxiety gets even more intense. 

It’s important to keep calm and take some vital next steps to help your little one overcome this situation. And you might have heard that one of these steps may involve putting the tooth in milk. Find out below if that’s fact or fiction.

How Does Milk Help with a Knocked-out Tooth?

A knocked-out tooth can actually be reimplanted into its original socket as long as it’s still alive. For this, you need to make sure of two things:

• You preserve the tooth
• You see a dentist as soon as possible 

The best way to preserve the tooth is to actually put it back into its socket. But sometimes, patients find it impossible to do it, whether that’s because of pain, bleeding, or generally feeling too anxious to do it themselves. Moreover, if the knocked-out tooth is a baby tooth, then this is not an option.

So, milk is the next best thing. You’ll need to find the tooth and place it in milk, preferably in an airtight container, and go see a pediatric dentist right away. If you don’t have any milk on hand, the child can also keep the tooth in their mouth, between their cheek and gums so their saliva can keep it from drying. This is an option if the child is old enough to understand they shouldn’t swallow the tooth.

Avoid putting the tooth in tap water. Though it will keep it moist, it can damage the cells and affect your reimplantation chances.

Steps to Take If You Have a Knocked-out Tooth

If your child gets a tooth knocked out, follow these simple steps:

• Stay calm and assess your situation to see if they have any other pressing needs (such as bleeding or another bodily injury).

• If necessary, call 911 and prioritize the other injuries.

• If the knocked-out tooth is the biggest problem, call an emergency dentist in Beaumont, CA, and describe the child’s symptoms.

• Place the tooth in its socket, milk, and follow any other instructions you got from the emergency dentist.

If you follow these steps, then you stand a great chance of saving the child's tooth. Note that reimplanting can only be done if the tooth is still intact. But even if it’s broken, chipped, or otherwise damaged, an emergency dentist may still be able to save it.

Emergency Dental Care at Kindred Pediatric Dentistry

If your child’s tooth gets knocked out or is experiencing any other type of dental emergency, Dr. Meghanne Kruizenga can help restore their oral health swiftly.  Call us today at (951) 572-8010 for an emergency pediatric dental appointment, or request a regular visit to Kindred Pediatric Dentistry online.