Quick thinking, preparation helped save USC swimmer Evan Pickles’ front tooth after accident

A collision with a bus led to Pickles’ front tooth being knocked out, but a campus awareness program — and save-a-tooth kits in the hands of DPS officers — program helped save the swimmer’s smile. 

BY MICHELLE McCARTHY

IT WAS A TYPICAL FRIDAY MORNING for Evan Pickles ’27, as he zipped across campus on his bike, headed to math class. But everything changed in an instant when he encountered a bus.

“I was riding in the bike lane, and there were two buses driving in front of me,” he recalls. “I went around the first one and then the second — and there was a third bus just parked there. I ran straight into the back of it.”

Upon impact, Pickles’ right front tooth broke in half. “Everything slowed down, and I watched as a piece of my tooth flew out of my mouth,” says Pickles, a mechanical engineering major and student-athlete on USC’s swim team. “I hit my head pretty hard, my face was banged up, and I broke my knee.”

Fortunately, a bystander quickly came to Pickles’ aid and called 911. USC’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers arrived promptly, followed shortly by paramedics. Although the paramedics urged Pickles to go to the hospital, he insisted on addressing his damaged tooth first. After he explained that saving the tooth was his top priority, they recommended he visit the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, conveniently located just a short walk from the accident site on campus.

“Being a lifeguard for the past four years, I have first-aid experience and have dealt with little kids getting their teeth knocked out,” he explains. “I knew the quicker I could get the tooth back in, the better chance it had to survive. I went back into the street and grabbed my tooth, and DPS gave me a Save-a-Tooth kit. I’d never seen one before, but it was perfect.”

USC’s Tooth-Saving Protocol

The kit — a small, sealed container filled with a special vitamin-and-electrolyte solution ­— was exactly what he needed. Implemented at USC in 2022 through a collaboration between Ostrow and DPS, the save-a-tooth protocol ensures all officers are prepared for dental trauma. It might seem like a small thing, but it can mean the difference between saving a tooth and losing it permanently.

Pickles decided to make his way to the dental school, but as he attempted to get back on his bike, his injured knee gave out. “I realized there was no way I could make it on my own,” he recalls. With assistance from the paramedics, he arrived at the clinic shortly after noon.

“I was a little bit apprehensive because they said it was students who would be treating me, but they were so professional and walked me through every step. They explained everything: the risks, the process, the long-term care. I was totally impressed.”

According to Feroza Hayatt DDS ’26, the student-dentist who treated him later that day, “Evan did everything right. He found the tooth fragment quickly and placed it in the solution within minutes. That gave us the best possible chance to restore it.”

Expert Care and an Unexpected Setback

To restore his tooth, Hayatt and her team cleaned the broken fragment and the remaining portion in his mouth. They applied dental bonding material and carefully reattached the fragment. “We placed a small barrier behind the gap to prevent the piece from falling backward during placement,” Hayatt says. “Then we cemented it into place and shaped it to match the surrounding teeth. I polished it up, made it look pretty and gave him a mirror to check it out. He looked at it and smiled, and that made me feel good.”

The entire visit, including emergency paperwork, X-rays, and treatment, took about three hours. Midway through, Pickles became lightheaded during an X-ray and had to sit down. “They responded immediately — brought me a chair, ice packs, a glucose tablet, even food,” he says. “They brought in extra doctors just to check on me. It was above and beyond.”

But the incident didn’t just affect his smile — it disrupted his athletic season. Pickles had been training for a major swim meet the following week. While his tooth healed within a day, his knee was another story.

“I fractured my kneecap,” he says. “If the break had been any worse, I would’ve needed surgery. As it was, I had to wear an immobilizer for four weeks and completely stop swimming. I’m hoping to compete again this summer.”

Smiles All Around

In hindsight, Pickles says the experience completely changed his initial hesitation about being treated by student providers. “I tell all my friends now: If anything ever happens to your teeth, go to the dental school. They’ve got your back.”

As for his tooth?

“It looks incredible,” he says, with a smile. “You can’t even tell I chipped it, and even I have trouble finding where it broke. It looks amazing. It’s crazy what they were able to do and how well it turned out.

The attention to detail was incredible. Overall, it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had at a dental office.”