Free Dental Directory of Diseases, Aliments and Solutions

• Gum disease
• Following a dental injury
• After braces

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Caused by Gum (Periodontal) Disease:

In the event you have one or more loose teeth as a result of gum (periodontal) disease, it is important to have a thorough evaluation performed by your Dentist.

Treatment:

Many treatment choices exist that can save your teeth even after they have become very loose.  Your Dentist will first have X- rays taken, and then measure the depth between the tooth and the gums with a periodontal probe.  The probe measures the distance from the top of the gums to the bottom of the gum pocket next to the tooth.  Healthy gum pockets are two (2) to three (3) millimeters deep.  Depths exceeding three (3) millimeters indicate gingivitis (early gum disease) or periodontitis (more advanced gum disease accompanied by bone loss).

Treatment options include a combination of:

• root planing (removing the tartar and polishing the root surfaces)

• splinting (using materials to secure loose teeth to each other)

• surgery (pulling the gums back to gain proper access to the root surfaces

• re-sculpting the bone and gums, and placing several stitches to aid healing)

Some general dentists perform these treatments in their offices, while others refer patients to periodontists, who are specialists that concentrate on gum-related problems.

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Following a Dental Injury:

An accident resulting in a blow to a tooth may cause a tooth to become loose.  If it's still properly aligned, it will generally tighten back up on its own (in days or several weeks).  It is important to know that a tooth may tighten up and appear normal only to later die because the nerve and blood supply are severed.  If this occurs, you may experience: 

• a gum boil (a tooth abscess that has worked its way to the surface)
• a toothache, darkening of the tooth
• no symptoms at all

Treatment:

Get to the Dentist immediately in the event you have an injury-related loose tooth.  The tooth will need to be re-examined periodically by your Dentist for a year or more to assure that it is still healthy and has an intact nerve and blood supply.  

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After Braces (Orthodontics):

It is quite common for some teeth to be slightly loose during and after the wearing of braces.  This is caused by the process of pressure on the teeth by the braces and their response to the pressure exerted by the brackets and wires on your teeth.  Special cells remove bone on one side of each tooth and build bone on the opposite side.  This process allows teeth to move through bone.  Until all the bone has filled back in, teeth may be noticeably loose.

Treatment:

Contact your orthodontist.

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