I think it was almost a month ago. A nine year old girl came in with her mother, crying hysterically. Apparently she had been at the playground with some of her friends when a swing had hit her and knocked one of her teeth out of her mouth. Fortunately her mother had the presence of mind to find the tooth and put it in some milk. That is the best way to keep the tooth until you get to a dentist; in a container full of milk or saline, and make sure you hold it by the crown, not the root, when you pick it up. If you manage to get to a dentist within half an hour, there is a good chance the tooth can be put back in its place.

Anyways, they had come straight to us and we gave them top priority. The girl, Alicia, wouldn't calm down. She was scared of losing her tooth, and on top of it, she was scared of going to dentists.  It was a tough situation, as we were running out of time to save the tooth. It took our experienced dental assistants some time to calm her down. When she was ready, I did an emergency exam and when I was satisfied that the root was intact and no root canal was needed, I used local anesthetic to make sure she didn't feel any pain and was comfortable while watching her favorite movie on the screen. We managed to save Alicia's tooth and smile. She was excited and happy to have her tooth back and her mother was satisfied that her young girl didn't have to wear dentures for the rest of her life.  

They came back last week for a general check up. The previous good experience at United Dental Care had convinced Alicia to come back. She told me she wasn't scared of going to dentists anymore, and that made my day.