West Ham medics missed the best chance of saving a tooth lost by one of their players when he was accidentally kicked in the face by an opponent, an expert trauma dentist has said.
Viewers watching yesterday’s FA Cup tie between Shrewsbury and the Hammers saw midfielder Josh Cullen spitting blood after the challenge from Abu Ogogo. A West Ham medic went onto the pitch to retrieve a tooth and it was placed in a cup of milk in the dugout.
Serpil Djemal, a consultant in restorative dentistry at King’s College hospital, said the medical team acted correctly by putting the tooth in milk but missed the best opportunity to save it. Ms Djemal, chairwoman of the charity Dental Trauma UK, said: “The best way of saving a tooth is to pick it, lick it and stick it. Immediately pick the tooth up by the crown, lick the tooth clean — the owner only! — and stick it back in position.”
Putting it in milk could help preserve the cells on the surface of the root but was not as good as re-implanting, she added. She also said footballers should consider wearing mouth guards. In 2014 Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta lost a tooth in a match against Hull and in 2016 Man City defender Aleksandar Kolarov lost one in the Manchester derby.
West Ham manager David Moyes revealed Cullen, 21, had in fact lost two teeth and had been sent to A&E to see if they could be saved. Captain Mark Noble teased his teammate, tweeting: “Mind the gap.”
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