Ouch!

Got a call about the middle of the afternoon that one of the kids I have been seeing regularly had been injured. Could I see her? 

Dental injuries are often very time sensitive.  The quicker a tooth is reimplanted after being knocked out, the better the chances for it to be successful.  And in case it ever happens to you – put the tooth right back into the socket if you can.  This young lady lives about half an hour out of town.  Mom had to get the vehicle going, go by the school and pick her up and get to our office.  She made it in just an hour.  And unfortunately, the tooth came inside a Ziplock bag.  One hour is the outside limit for re-implantation with a reasonable chance of success.  We popped the tooth into a special solution we have on hand and got ready to stabilize it. 

Having the facilities in our office to do braces sure makes that part of the job easier – just a few brackets and a wire.  Having a great assistant who is ready and willing to do her part – and in fact stays late to help is also wonderful, especially considering that she did not even work with me today.  Both she and my other assistant were exceptional today. 

So we got this beautiful young woman’s tooth (front one of course) reimplanted, the broken one next to it repaired and sent her off almost smiling.  And we sent her off with a mouthguard in hand.  And I bet she wears it.  At least for awhile – till the memory of today fades.