title: Oral health: treatment of dental trauma and pain.
abstract: Dental trauma is common among adults and children. As children become mobile, they frequently experience trauma to their primary teeth because of falls. Injuries to permanent teeth are common results of falls, motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, and violence. Trauma can affect the tooth enamel, dentin, pulp, root, periodontal ligament, gum, or alveolar bone. Avulsions are characterized by complete displacement of the tooth from the socket. Avulsed primary teeth should not be replanted because replantation is associated with a risk of damage to the developing permanent tooth. Avulsed permanent teeth are considered a dental emergency and should be replanted by the first individual capable of doing so. If immediate replantation is not possible, the tooth should be stored in cold animal or human milk; it also can be stored in the mouth, adjacent to the buccal mucosa, if the patient is capable of doing so. Water should be avoided as a storage medium because it impedes healing of the periodontal ligament, but storage in water is superior to dry storage. Intruded teeth (ie, pushed into the jaw) may need immediate extraction, depending on their orientation. All patients with dental trauma should follow up promptly with a dentist. Patients presenting with chronic dental pain without an obvious treatable etiology will benefit from ongoing support from their family physicians.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 1100 Delaplaine Court, Madison, WI 53715, ildi.martonffy@fammed.wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Andrea Ildiko
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Martonffy