Loose Teeth and Bite Problems
As an adult, loose teeth are a cause for concern. Loose teeth can be a sign that other serious and sometimes painful problems are happening in the mouth. If left untreated for too long, loose teeth are at risk of falling out or requiring extraction, further complicating the healing process.
What Causes Loose Teeth?
The most common causes of tooth looseness are gum disease, traumatic injury, and bruxism or teeth grinding. With gum disease, bacteria invade the mouth, decaying oral structures. When significant deterioration occurs, teeth can become loose in the mouth. Traumatic injury can happen as a result of accidental impacts sustained during activities like playing rough sports or simply falling. Not all injuries can cause teeth to break or fall out, sometimes teeth are loosened due to the impact. Grinding, or bruxism, can be a cause of loose teeth as well. When teeth are loosened because of bruxism, the best treatment is wearing a night guard.
Loose Teeth and Bite Problems
The first bite problem associated with loose teeth is a painful sensation while biting and chewing. This is often caused by damage to the ligaments that hold the teeth in place. Sometimes these ligaments can heal and loose teeth will tighten up on their own. The best way to encourage healing is to avoid chewing with the affected teeth and maintain proper oral hygiene. Be gentle when brushing the area around loose teeth as brushing too forcefully can inhibit healing or worsen the damage already done.
If treatment for loose teeth is postponed too long and the teeth are not healing on their own, loose teeth can cause misalignment in the bite. The ligament fibers that attach teeth to dental bones can become stressed if they do not heal properly, causing teeth to become crooked. When crooked teeth do not align correctly, they can cause a painful bite.
Treatment for Bite Problems
Dentists have many tools at their disposal for fixing the problems caused by loose teeth. If the cause of loose teeth is gum disease, a professional deep clean and daily maintenance may be all that is needed to solve the problem. Eradication of the bacteria that cause inflammation or decay in the supporting structures of the teeth may be enough to allow the teeth to tighten up.
For more serious bite problems caused by loose teeth, mechanical solutions may be necessary. This approach involves changing the forces being applied to the teeth using various solutions. A dentist can reshape the tooth enamel or sometimes fillings to fix the way the teeth come together when you bite. In some cases, splinting teeth together can have the dual solution of tightening loose teeth and spreading out the bite force over multiple teeth. Your dentist can also custom make a bite guard, mouth guard, or night guard if bruxism is an issue. Wearing a guard during sports activity or while sleeping can help mitigate the damage and loosening caused by grinding the teeth and from accidental impacts.
The problems caused by loose teeth can be addressed if you seek professional dental treatment as soon as possible. Delaying treatment will only cause your problems to worsen.