My son and I love to wrestle and at least twice a week our living room turns into a wrestling ring where we battle it out. It’s all in fun, but I have to admit, we do get pretty serious sometimes. Last night I took an elbow to my jaw and boy, did it hurt! I didn’t let it bring me down and we finished the match. I looked in the mirror today and I have a pretty big bruise, but what worries me more is that it kind of feels like my tooth is loose. It doesn’t seem to move when I try and wiggle it, but something doesn’t feel right. I’m not sure if I should just wait a few days and see if it heals or make an appointment with the emergency dentist. Any advice? — Mike
Dear Mike,
Like the old saying goes… it’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt (or should we say gets a tooth knocked loose)! Living room wrestling matches can be fun, but you’d best get serious and have that tooth checked out. While you may want to keep trying to wiggle it… stop! The ligaments that hold your tooth in place likely took a hit and are now injured or stretched and they could snap if you keep pulling or wiggling. An emergency dentist can stabilize the tooth and see if it there’s a chance it will heal on its own, or determine if a root canal will be needed. In any case, you want to protect it from further damage, so delaying or fore going treatment altogether could cause you to loose the tooth.
As for future wrestling matches, why not spend a few dollars on a simple mouth guard? A small investment now can pay off big time in future battles – and hopefully save you from painful emergency dental visits.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. Alana Macalik. For more information on the services she provides, visit her Arlington cosmetic dentist website.