There is ample cause for worry when the tooth of an adult becomes loose. This is because once an adult tooth is lost, it doesn't grow back. However, not all is lost once you develop loose teeth. Dentists can take a number of steps to treat the condition based on the underlying cause of that looseness. This article discusses some of those measures that may be taken in case you have loose teeth.
Use of a Mouth Guard
A family dentist may consider giving you a mouth guard to wear in case your tooth became loose due to bruxism (habitual clenching or grinding of your teeth). In this case, the mouth guard will prevent the upper teeth from making contact with the lower teeth. This helps the teeth to be safe from the excessive bite forces that weaken the ligaments that keep the teeth in their position. Consequently, the support structures of your loose tooth or teeth will gradually heal and hold the teeth properly.
Dental Splinting
Dental splinting refers to moving teeth closer together until their surfaces touch. The purpose of dental splinting is to create a larger surface area so that the force generated by biting something is distributed over that larger surface area. There will be a smaller strain on each tooth ligament after dental splinting has been done. The reduced strain allows the support tissues, such as ligaments, to regain their ability to hold the tooth firmly in its place.
Dental Contouring
Dental contouring refers to reshaping the surface of individual teeth. This can be done once your family dentist realizes that the shape of your tooth is causing the bite force to be distributed unevenly across the surface of that tooth. The dentist may scrape off part of the tooth so that the entire tooth touches food at the same time when you are chewing. In this way, the force exerted as you chew will be evenly distributed, thereby removing the imbalance that caused your tooth to become loose.
Never ignore tooth looseness. Chances are high that it will only worsen. Contact your family dentist and describe what you are experiencing. He or she will prescribe the best intervention to solve the problem after identifying what is causing the looseness. The option chosen may not be one of the ones discussed above because your case may have been the result of periodontal disease that affected the integrity of your gum tissues.
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