Can an avulsed tooth that has not been completely knocked out of its socket be saved? my husband had his left front tooth knocked most of the way out, and we got to the dentist as soon as we could, where the tooth was reomved. i'm wondering if we had gott

You : You ask a very good question and the answer differs from patient to patient, trauma to trauma. A tooth that avulsed has had many blood vessels and nerves severed, as well as having the surrounding bone traumatized. In many instances, if the tooth is reimplanted and fixated to the adjacent teeth, the surrounding tissue will reattach to the tooth. The nerve in the tooth may die, which will result in the need for root canal therapy. But you will still have your own tooth. I cannot say for sure if you had gotten to your dentist earlier the tooth would have been saved, but in general, the earlier it is reimplanted the better the prognosis.

In : In this situation if the tooth can be reduced to its original position and stabilized it most definitely could have been saved. I have done this on several occasions in my career. At the time of repositioning the tooth, endodontics is performed, the patient is put on precautionary antibiotics and the tooth is stabilized orthodontically for a period of time, at least 6-8 weeks, sometimes longer if necessary until the area becomes more comfortable & less tender. If the tooth is avulsed & not fractured, the surrounding bone (the socket) is what is fractured & it is treated this way like a bone fracture. The fact that the tooth didn't come all the way out is good because it was stored in the best possible place. If it had completely avulsed then the time it was out of the socket reduces the success, but if as described as not completely avulsed but displaced, the above treatment is very successful.

Teeth : Teeth that have been completely avulsed may be replanted. If your husband's tooth was still partly in the socket, it is likely that it could have been maintained. I am not sure what your dentist saw that lead him to remove the tooth. After a reimplanted tooth has been stabilized, it is likely that it will require endodontic (root canal) treatment to insure that the pulp does not cause an infection.