Causes of Loose Teeth
What causes Loose Teeth? When you are growing up, your baby teeth become loose because there are new teeth coming in under your gums. These new teeth will be with your for the rest of your life and will help you chew your food. However, once your permanent teeth arrive you should not expect any of those same “loose” feelings to arrive. If your teeth can move more than 1 millimeter off their natural position you should make an appointment with your dental care team to discuss treatment and repair options. The sooner you consult with your dentist and care team, the better your results should be.
What is causing my loose teeth?
Your loose teeth can often be caused by gum disease or infection. The overwhelming cause of gum disease and infection can be traced back to improper dental hygiene. You want to brush your teeth regularly after meals. You want to floss after meals to remove and sort of food material from harder to reach spaces in your mouth. You want to regularly use mouthwash to disinfect spaces that are impossible to reach with floss or a tooth brush, and broader surface areas like your cheeks. Infections occur when decaying food materials are not removed by hygienic operations, and those organic materials decay and harden and fester–forming plaque or tartar on the surface of your teeth and in your gums. Infections breed disease and disease attacks the organic tissue that helps secure your teeth in their root.
Loose teeth can also be caused by other factors, like genetic bone disorders or osteoporosis. They can be caused by trauma or damage to your teeth or jaw. You can also unconsciously be grinding your teeth, which is causing looseness or root damage.
How is tooth looseness treated?
Loose teeth treatment usually begins with dental hygiene. Your mouth will be professionally cleaned to help the dentist reveal the root cause of looseness. Removing plaque and tartar can help to identify if causes are deep seated in the root of the tooth, or if physical damage to the tooth is causing insecurity. Sometimes the Dentist may recommend scaling or root planing, which will clean the surface of the tooth and smooth the surface of the tooth root, providing a clean surface for the tooth to be anchored into the jaw. The loose teeth may also be splinted to nearby secure teeth, which will allow them to stay in place while the root is treated, eventually allowing the teeth to resecure.
When should you see the dentist?
If you notice your teeth are moveable, make an appointment. The longer you wait the more the underlying damage may progress. You may be able to treat the causes and reaffix your tooth, or you may ignore the problem and lose multiple teeth. If you wait too long and have to replace missing teeth, the recovery takes a lot longer and becomes more expensive. Treatment options are available, but you have to make the appointment and consult with your dentist first.