PUNE: A 20-year-old college student met with an accident recently and was admitted to Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) Pune. The department of dentistry at SGH successfully conducted the plantation of the avulsed tooth.
Speaking about the surgery, Dr Ajay Chandanwale, Dean, SGH said the youth approached the hospital after he noticed that the tooth was missing.
“The student met with an accident early in the morning and so visited the hospital. He informed the doctors that following the accident, he noticed he had lost one tooth of his upper jaw. His friend, who accompanied him to the hospital, found that the tooth was soiled after it fell on the road, he collected it and wrapped it in a piece of paper and it was brought to the hospital,” said Dr Chandanwale.
The patient was examined in the Department of Dentistry. “The soiled tooth was gently cleaned with normal saline to wash off the dirt and it was immersed in normal saline. The oral wound was evaluated and gently irrigated with normal saline and betadine. The patient was given an oral dose of antibiotics prior to replacing the tooth in its socket,” said Dr Chandanwale.
He said that under local anaesthesia, the avulsed tooth was placed back in its socket and splinted in position with an arch bar.
“The splint was maintained for three weeks. The patient was asked to come for a follow-up every week. After three weeks, the splint was removed under local anaesthesia. The splinted tooth showed no signs of discolouration, mobility,” noted Dr Chandanwale.
Dr Samir Khaire, Assistant Professor at the Department of Dentistry performed this difficult surgery.
“Road accidents are on the rise and the take-home message would be start early, drive slowly and reach safely. The best and the easiest way to manage a complication is to prevent it,” said Dr Khaire.
