basket with the tooth out of the solution and inverts the net so that the tooth falls out onto the sponge the dentist grasps the tooth with a forceps and reimplants it in the patient 39 s mouth application_number US 88008886 A description the present invention provides a simple method and apparatus for saving a tooth that has been exarticulated or suddenly and completely knocked out of the patient 39 s mouth in order to understand the invention it is helpful to review the anatomy of a tooth fig4 is a diagram showing in cross section the principal components of a single rooted tooth the tooth has a crown portion designated generally by reference numeral 1 and a root portion designated generally by reference numeral 3 the crown is the portion of the tooth which protrudes from the gingiva or gum 5 the crown portion has a coating of enamel 7 under which is located a layer of dentin 9 a tubular structure which supports the enamel and provides a sensory mechanism pulp chamber 11 contains the nerve of the tooth the outer covering of the root of the tooth is known as the cementum and is designated by reference numeral 13 the periodontal membrane 15 also known as the.