Tooth Avulsion: Key Strategies to Prevent Irreversible Loss

Maxillofacial traumatic injuries represent a constant challenge in dental practice, among which dental injuries, especially avulsion, are considered the most severe and clinically relevant emergencies. Avulsion involves the complete expulsion of a tooth from its alveolus, resulting in esthetic, functional, and psychological consequences that can significantly impact a patient’s quality of life. Proper management, with rapid action based on standardized protocols and scientific evidence, represents a complex clinical challenge due to the need to preserve the dental organ and prevent long-term complications. Dental avulsion incidence is highest in children and adolescents between 7 and 10 years of age, most commonly affecting permanent anterior teeth, particularly the upper central incisors, followed by upper lateral incisors and lower central incisors. The most frequent causes are falls, traffic accidents, sports activities without protection, and direct trauma, with increased susceptibility in the presence of predisposing factors such as dental protrusion, extensive caries, periodontal disease, shallow alveoli, and systemic conditions like advanced age or immunodeficiency. The prognosis of an avulsed tooth depends on the promptness and type of intervention after trauma. Immediate reimplantation is the treatment of choice to favor healing, considering apical maturity, extraoral time, and the appropriate storage medium for the avulsed tooth. These factors ensure the long-term survival of the tooth in the oral cavity under optimal conditions.