Dental Referrals: What You Need to Know
When arranging dental referral, it is important for clinicians to use correct terminology to describe injuries. Accurate communicaiton will help ensure patients receive proper treatment on a timely basis.
Definitions
- Concussion: Tooth is tender but not displaced or mobile
- Subluxation: Tooth is mobile with no displacement, though it may have hemorrhage from the gingival crevice
- Luxation: Tooth is loose with some degree of lateral displacement
- Intrusion: Tooth is pushed deeper into its socket
- Extrusion: Tooth is partially displaced axially from its socket
- Avulsion: Tooth has been completely displaced or knocked out of its socket
References
Andreasen JO, Andreasen FM. Classification, etiology and epidemiology of traumatic dental injuries. In: Andreasen JO, Andreasen FM, editors. Textbook and color atlas of traumatic injuries to the teeth. 3rd Edition ed. Copenhagan: Munksgaard; 1993. p. 151-77.
Andreasen JO, Andreasen FM, Bakland LK, Flores MT. Traumatic Dental Injuries - A Manual. Copenhagen: Munksgaard; 1999.
American Association of Endodontists. Recommended Guidelines of the American Association of Endodontists for the Treatment of Traumatic Dental Injuries. Chicago; 2004.
American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Guideline on Management of Acute Dental Trauma. Pediatric Dentistry 2009;31(6):187-195.