Losing your tooth as a child is exciting because you get to put your tooth under your pillow and wait for the tooth fairy to come. It is not so exciting when you are an adult because there isn't a chance that you have another tooth just waiting to grow in. You had a permanent tooth knocked out, so you need to know what to do about it. You can save your tooth and get it to heal back in your mouth where it belongs. There are some things that you can do that will help, and you will need to see a dentist as soon as possible so that they can make sure that everything is working well. 

Rinse Off the Tooth

You need to rinse the tooth so that you can get any debris or dirt off of it. Don't rinse it under a powerful stream of water; you want a trickle of lukewarm water. Don't force any tissue off the tooth's roots and don't scrub at it. You should hold the tooth by the crown of it because the roots are more delicate than you might think, and holding or handling them roughly can damage the roots enough that your tooth won't properly sit back in your mouth. 

Stop Any Bleeding

If your mouth is bleeding from where the tooth came out, you should stop the bleeding. An easy way to do that is to fold up a square of gauze, put it in the socket, and bite down. The gauze will absorb the blood and the pressure of your biting it will help stop the bleeding. Stopping the blood will let you see the socket better. You can see if you have any other damage to your mouth, and you can see to do the next step. 

Try to Put It Back

When you have rinsed it off and stopped any bleeding, you should try to put the tooth back in the socket. That will let everything start to heal. It also will keep your tooth safe until you can see a dentist. Don't try to force it. If the tooth doesn't fit back in, put it in a container with some spit to cover it or a little milk. 

No matter what you do, you should make sure that you call a dentist and get in to see them as soon as you can. They will help you ensure your tooth stays where it belongs. 

Reach out to a local dental clinic, such as Mandeville Center for Dental Excellence, to learn more.