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November 8, 2009
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Dental Injuries

Introduction

Trauma to the face or teeth can result from auto accidents, falls, and injury from sports such as football, hockey, soccer, volleyball, basketball, and baseball, etc. Patients suffering significant head, neck or facial trauma should be evaluated and treated in hospital emergency rooms. Such trauma may involve bleeding from the nose or ears, concussion, dizziness, lapse of memory, disorientation, severe headache and earache, or breaking (fracture) of the skull and/or jaws. Most hospitals have on their staff oral surgeons who can treat fractures of the upper or lower jaw and perform emergency tooth removal (dental extractions) and reconstruction of the dental arches.

Wear and tear of cavities and chewing hard objects such as pencils, ice cubes, nuts, and hard candies, can also lead to tooth fractures. Dental injury without associated head and neck trauma can be evaluated and treated in a dental office. Such dental injuries include broken (fractured) teeth, teeth totally knocked out of the mouth, or teeth displaced by unexpected external forces. These dental accidents may be associated with swelling of the gum and oral tissue. Cold packs or ice cubes placed either inside the mouth directly above the injured tooth, or outside on the cheeks or lips, can reduce pain and swelling before the patient reaches the dentist.



Next: What is a tooth fracture? »

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Dental Injuries

Black eye introduction

A black eye often results from injury to the face or the head, and is caused when blood and other fluids collect in the space around the eye. Swelling and dark discoloration result in a "black eye" – sometimes called a "shiner."

Most black eyes are relatively minor injuries. Many heal on their own in a few days, but they may signify a more serious injury.

Despite the name, "black eye," the eye itself is not usually injured. The tissues around the eye may be significantly discolored and swollen without any injury to the eye itself, like a bruise (ecchymosis) around the eye.

The skin around the eye is very loose, with mostly fat underneath it and fluid accumulates easily in this area. The skin around the eye is one of the first places to swell when the facial area is injured. Depending on the location and type of injury, one or both eyes may be affected. Injuries to the eye brow and forehead area...

Read the Black Eye article »










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