When you were a child, losing a tooth was fun because the magical Tooth Fairy would come in the middle of the night and replace the lost tooth under your pillow with some cold, hard cash. However, now that you are an adult, losing a tooth is a real bummer. And, it can be expensive to replace a lost tooth with a dental appliance, such as a dental implant or bridge.
The good news is that by understanding the cause of your loose teeth and working with your dentist on a solution, you can greatly improve your chances of being able to retain any loose teeth that you might currently have.
Causes of Loose Adult Teeth
There are three main causes of loose teeth in adults:
In addition, teeth can become loose from chewing on hard objects, such as candy or ice cubes. Chewing on hard foods can cause the ligaments that hold your teeth in your gums to become damaged. If the damage is caught in time, then the tooth can be restabilized by your dentist. If not, then the tooth will need to be extracted to prevent infection.
Prevention of Loose Adult Teeth
To prevent dental impact injuries, you should always wear a mouthguard when playing sports. Additionally, if you grind your teeth while sleeping, then your dentist can prescribe a special dental mouth guard that you can wear at night while you sleep. The mouth guard will stop you from grinding your teeth, as well as helping to prevent you from developing temporomandibular joint disease (TMJ).
Gum disease is a very common disease in people who are aging or who have not taken good care of their teeth. The most common symptoms of gum disease are:
If you have any of the above symptoms, then you should speak with your dentist and have an exam to determine if you are developing gum disease.
Professional Dental Care for Loose Adult Teeth
If you have a loose tooth that is caused by injury or grinding, then your dentist can apply a temporary splint to attempt to get the tooth's ligaments to heal. To do this, a small splint is cemented in place to hold the tooth in place and keep it from moving. The splint is removed a couple weeks later to test the stability of the tooth.
If the tooth is still loose after splinting, then your dentist can permanently attach it to the two teeth on adjacent sides in order to help stabilize it. However, if gum disease is the cause of the loose tooth, then the tooth may require extraction to avoid a dental infection.
Conclusion
By understanding the cause of your loose adult teeth, you can work with your dentist to formulate a plan for preserving your teeth for as long as possible. If you believe that any of your teeth are currently loose, then you should make an appointment with a dentist like Accent Dental as soon as possible. Getting prompt dental care for your teeth will lower your odds of losing the teeth in your mouth.
Share23 February 2015
Halloween is a holiday that my children love, and telling them they can't go door-to-door collecting candy would break their hearts. This led me to allowing them to collect candy on the holiday, then rationing it out to them every day instead of letting them gobble it up in just a few days. I always thought this was better for them, but my dentist told me this could be the reason why their February dental check-ups were always their worst ones. Daily candy consumption was taking a toll on their teeth. I started a new tradition of letting them indulge for two days, then giving them the option to swap the rest with me in exchange for a new toy. They never pass on the opportunity for a new toy. I created this blog to encourage other parents find similar tactics to keep their children's teeth healthy after Halloween.