Treatment: Reposition displaced teeth under local anaesthetic and stabilise the mobile segment with a splint for 4 weeks, suture any soft tissue lacerations.
For lips, important to rule out presence of foreign objects in wounds and lacerations through careful examination.
The facial nerve and parotid duct should be examined for any potential damage when the buccal mucosa is involved.
Trauma to primary teeth occurs most commonly at the age of two to three years, during the development of motor coordination.
[7] When primary teeth are injured, the resulting treatment prioritises the safety of the adult tooth,[7] and should avoid any risk of damaging the permanent successors.
[8] If this happens, parents should be advised of possible complications such as enamel hypoplasia, hypocalcification, crown/root dilaceration, or disruptions in tooth eruption sequence.
[10] Necrosis is the most common complication and an assessment is generally made based on the colour supplemented with radiograph monitoring.
Regular use of a gum shield during sports and other high-risk activities (such as military training) is the most effective prevention for dental trauma.
Gum shields ideally have to be comfortable for users, retentive, odourless, tasteless and the materials should not be causing any harm to the body.
[28] However, studies in various high-risk populations for dental injuries have repeatedly reported low compliance of individuals for the regular using of mouthguard during activities.
[18] Types of gum shield:[28][30] One of the most important measures is to impart knowledge and awareness about dental injury to those who are involved in sports environments like boxing and in school children in which they are at high risk of suffering dental trauma through an extensive educational campaign including lectures, leaflets, posters which should be presented in an easy understandable way.
[35] An avulsed permanent tooth should be gently rinsed under tap water and immediately re-planted in its original socket within the alveolar bone and later temporarily splinted by a dentist.
[36] For other injuries, it is important to keep the area clean by using a soft toothbrush and antiseptic mouthwash such as chlorhexidine gluconate.
[38] The International Association of Dental Traumatology (IADT) guidelines recommend the use of flexible, non-rigid splints for a short duration by stating that both periodontal and pulpal healing is encouraged if the traumatised tooth is allowed slight movement and if the splinting time is not too long.
[39][40] Not all sequelae of trauma are immediate and many of them can occur months or years after the initial incident thus required prolonged follow-up.
50% of the tooth that have trauma related to avulsion experienced ankylotic root resorption after a median TIC (time elapsed between the traumatic event and the diagnosis of complications) of 1.18 years.