Instructions

• Step 1: Find tooth Find your tooth—or piece of tooth—as quickly as possible.
• Step 2: Pick up by tip Pick it up by the tip only—not the roots.
• Step 3: Apply gauze Apply sterile gauze to the socket where the tooth was knocked out to staunch the bleeding.
• Step 4: Gently rinse tooth Gently rinse the tooth in a cup of water.
• TIP: Move fast—a dentist has the best chance of reimplanting a tooth within 30 minutes—but very gently. Don’t try to wipe the tooth clean or hold it under running water.
• Step 5: Place tooth in socket Place the tooth back into its socket.
• TIP: Do this for adults only—children may swallow the tooth.
• Step 6: Place gauze pad Place a gauze pad or a moistened tea bag over the tooth, between the bottom and upper teeth, and very gently close your mouth to hold it in place.
• TIP: If you are unable to place the tooth back in the socket, submerge it in a cup of whole milk or your own saliva—not water—until you can get to the dentist. Transporting the tooth dry can cause permanent nerve damage to the tooth within a few minutes.
• Step 7: Seek emergency care Seek emergency care immediately. If you cannot get to a dentist right away, go to a hospital emergency room—and don’t forget the tooth!
• FACT: No one’s sure exactly how the tooth fairy myth started, but its modern version—a fairy that replaces a shed baby tooth under a pillow with money or candy—didn’t show up until the early 1900s.

You Will Need

• Sterile gauze pads
• Cup
• Water
• Moistened tea bag
• Whole milk