IS IT BOLLOCKS?
Film Buff investigates the facts behind outlandish movie plots.
The tooth behind I (Dental) Care A Lot’s milk scene.
QDodgy legal guardian Marla Grayson loses a tooth in a car crash and pops the incisor into some milk before getting it re-inserted the next day. The best way to care for bashed-out molars?
APROFESSOR DAMIEN WALMSLEY, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE BRITISH DENTAL ASSOCIATION BPA.CO.UK
The tooth sits in a bony socket and has many cells around it that help to keep it healthy. If the tooth is knocked out, it is vital to keep these cells on the surface of the tooth root alive as they will help reunite the tooth with the bony socket when it is put back in the mouth. These cells need to stay wet as they will die if the tooth dries out. In the film, Marla takes the tooth out of her pocket to put it in the milk, but it would have been much better to have kept it in saliva in her mouth before the milk dip. But yes, milk is a good storage medium as it is kind to the cells, having a similar pH balance and is anti-bacterial.
Time is of the essence and you must get it back into the mouth as soon as possible, preferably within 15 minutes, as the cells are likely to die after about an hour. The sooner it is put back the better its chances. In the film, the accident happens late at night and Marla goes to the dentist the next morning. In reality the cells would probably be dead by this time. But she did the best she could keeping the tooth moist. Front teeth are cylindrical in shape and usually can be replaced similar to placing a peg in a hole, but molars have three roots, so replacing these is more difficult.
The nerve of the tooth will die when it’s knocked out, so root-canal treatment will be required. And the tooth will also need a splint to hold it in position during the initial healing phase. If the dentist keeps a check on it over the following months, there should be years of use to come.
VERDICT NOT BOLLOCKS
Want us to investigate if a movie scenario is bollocks? Ask us at totalfilm@futurenet.com