What Are the Treatments for Loose Teeth in Adults?

Teeth loosening can be acute or chronically slow, and can be accompanied by tooth pain or discomfort. The main effect on people is that they feel weak or uncomfortable when chewing food.

Ouyang Xiangying	(Chief physician)	Department of Periodontology, Peking University Stomatological Hospital
Kang Jun	(Chief physician)	Department of Periodontology, Peking University Stomatological Hospital
Shi Dong	(Deputy Chief Physician)	Department of Periodontology, Peking University Stomatological Hospital

Tooth loosening means that the degree of tooth loosening exceeds the normal physiological range. Teeth have a certain degree of movement in a healthy state, mainly in the horizontal direction, and the vertical direction is very small, not more than 0.02mm, which is difficult to detect. When tooth mobility is greater than this range due to certain disease factors or other factors, it is called tooth loosening.

Western Medicine Name: Loose teeth
Affiliated Department: Department of Physiology-Stomatology

Disease site: tooth
The main symptoms: Weak or uncomfortable chewing, tooth pain
Main cause: The tissue around the root of the tooth changes, and the absorption of the root itself becomes shorter

Clinical index of tooth loosening

Teeth loosening can be acute or chronically slow, and can be accompanied by tooth pain or discomfort. The main effect on people is that they feel weak or uncomfortable when chewing food.

Depending on the degree of tooth loosening, it can be clinically divided into three divisions of degree to degree.

The first degree of tooth looseness is the movement of the cheek-lingual direction (internal and external directions) within 1mm, and no movement in other directions;

There are two cases of degree tooth looseness. One is the movement of the cheek-lingual direction (internal and external directions) between 1 and 2 mm. Direction of movement

There are also two cases of degree tooth looseness. One is the buccal and tongue direction (inner and outer direction) movement exceeding 2mm, and the second is the tooth with buccal and tongue direction (inner and outer direction), mesial (left and right) and vertical (up and down) ) Momentum in three directions.

The degree of tooth loosening from degree to degree is getting heavier, and it has a greater and greater impact on the patient's life. In general, the possibility of tooth loss or extraction needs to be greater.

Causes of tooth looseness

Loose teeth can be caused by a variety of causes. There are two main reasons, one is the change of the tissue around the root of the tooth, and the other is the shortening of the absorption of the root itself.

Loose tooth changes around the root tissue

1. Chronic progressive tooth loosening is mostly caused by periodontitis. This kind of loosening is usually not accompanied by obvious pain and discomfort in the teeth, and most often have symptoms of bite weakness. What needs to be paid attention to is that most adults in China, especially those over 35 years old, suffer from chronic periodontitis. Tooth is supported and supported by bone tissue and soft tissue around the root of the tooth to stably exist and function in a fixed position in the oral cavity. Chronic periodontitis is a chronic progressive disease, mainly a chronic inflammation of the periodontal support tissue. It does not cause tooth loosening in the early stages of the disease, but as the disease progresses, chronic absorption of the alveolar bone around the root of the tooth occurs. When the degree of absorption exceeds 1/2 of the root length, the supporting force of the tooth weakens, which will increase the looseness of the tooth. It can be understood that there are many roots in the posterior teeth, and there are more periodontal support tissues surrounding the roots. The anterior teeth are mostly single roots. Therefore, when the alveolar bone is absorbed to the same degree, the anterior teeth are more than the posterior teeth. Teeth are more loose. In addition, it should not be ignored that in addition to chronic periodontitis, invasive periodontitis is also a special type of periodontitis. Most patients with invasive periodontitis have symptoms of tooth loosening when they are relatively young. Heavier, more rapid progress, more onset in adolescence or around 20 years old, women are more susceptible to disease than men.

2. If the occlusion of the teeth is bad, or there is a bad habit of grinding the teeth at night or biting the teeth tightly, it will cause trauma to the teeth and cause loosening of the teeth for a long time. Whether or not the trauma caused by occlusion needs to be determined by the professional examination of the dental doctor. At the same time, it should be noted that if people with periodontitis themselves are more sensitive to occlusal trauma, the degree of tooth loosening caused by the same occlusal trauma is also more serious.

3. Sudden tooth looseness often has a clear cause, such as sudden bite of hard objects, trauma and so on. Tooth loosening caused by this condition is often accompanied by pain and discomfort, and there may be tooth displacement, that is, deviation from the original normal position, and severe cases may cause tooth loss. This condition should be treated at the hospital as soon as possible.

4. If tooth looseness is accompanied by tooth occlusion pain or gum pain, it is mostly acute inflammation and edema of periodontal ligament tissue, which causes tooth looseness. The periodontal ligament inflammation and edema may have multiple causes. If there is a previous tooth that is suffering from hot and cold stimulation, or spontaneous severe tooth pain, it may be due to the inflammation of the periodontal tissue of the tooth root due to the progress of dental pulp inflammation, which may Inflammation of periodontal ligament tissue. In this case, the inflammation of pulp and periapical tissue should be treated first; if there is obvious pain in the gums, the periodontal ligament may be caused by periodontal abscess. A manifestation of periodontitis, periodontal abscess should be resolved first.

5. If the loosening of the teeth occurs after periodontal surgery, then the loosening at this time is usually temporary, only because the local tissue caused by the surgery is somewhat congested. Generally, after a few weeks, the teeth will return to their original loosening after the edema is reduced.

6. Changes in female hormone levels may cause changes in tooth looseness, such as mild tooth looseness during menstruation.

Loose teeth shorten the absorption of the root itself

1. Before the replacement of deciduous teeth, children will absorb the roots of deciduous teeth. When a certain degree is reached, tooth loosening will occur. In this case, tooth loosening usually has no other pain and discomfort.

2. Root resorption caused by other diseases. For example, after long-term injury to the tooth, after root canal treatment, tooth root absorption may occur. If there is a long-term compression such as a mass under the tooth root, it may also cause root tooth absorption. Therefore, you should see a doctor as soon as possible to clarify the cause.

Treatment of loose teeth

The cause of tooth loosening should be clarified before treatment, so as to carry out targeted treatment.

1. Tooth loosening caused by periodontitis should be treated as early as possible for professional periodontal treatment. The main method is to use special medical equipment for tooth cleaning and subgingival scraping to remove tartar and plaque around the teeth that cause inflammation, so as to reduce inflammation around the teeth and slow alveolar bone absorption. These treatments require Several times to complete. This method of treatment is not a one-time solution. In addition to carefully cleaning the teeth according to the advice of the dentist, it also needs to be reviewed regularly. If the disease does not resolve, the doctor may suggest related periodontal surgery according to the situation. The purpose is also to completely clear the inflammation around the teeth and promote healing. In some patients, multiple lower anterior teeth are loose. Depending on the situation, the doctor may glue these teeth together after basic periodontal treatment to increase the overall stability and time of tooth preservation.

If the degree of tooth loosening is extensive and the surrounding inflammation is extensive, reluctant retention may spread the inflammation to neighboring teeth, causing inflammation around the neighboring teeth and causing a series of lesions such as tooth loosening. Therefore, extraction of excessively loose teeth is also a treatment method.

2. Loose teeth due to occlusion problems should be diagnosed by an dentist. If it is accompanied by periodontitis, the periodontal treatment should be performed first, and the remaining occlusal problems should be adjusted. The way to adjust the occlusion is to adjust the part of the teeth that interferes with the occlusion. The doctor is most cautious when adjusting the adjustment, the amount of adjustment is very small, and it may take several adjustments.

3. Loose teeth caused by trauma must not be delayed, the sooner the better.

Mild tooth loosening can be fixed. Generally, the tooth can be stabilized in this position after 1 week. At this time, the fixed device or adhesive is removed. After that, the tooth can be restored to health.

For teeth with moderate or severe trauma, the affected teeth are usually fixed after related treatment. After fixing, the teeth usually show pulp symptoms after a period of time. Therefore, they should be reviewed regularly under the guidance of a doctor. The symptoms of the pulp are dealt with in time.

4. If the tooth is loose due to inflammation around the apex, the inflammation around the apex should be resolved first. After the root canal or other treatment is performed by the dentist, the loosening of the teeth will generally be relieved as the inflammation around the apex subsides.

Periodontal abscesses will also increase the degree of tooth loosening. At this time, washing and applying medicine should be performed. The degree of tooth loosening after the abscess subsides will be further alleviated.

5. For periodontal surgery and mild increase in teeth caused by female hormone levels, generally no treatment is required, but oral hygiene should be maintained.

6. Loosening of the teeth during the replacement of the deciduous teeth is normal and does not require any treatment. However, if the permanent teeth have emerged and the deciduous teeth have not fallen off, it may cause the permanent teeth to be abnormal. At this time, the corresponding deciduous teeth should be removed early to promote Eruption of permanent teeth.

7. If the tooth is loose due to the absorption of the root of the tooth, you should see the doctor promptly. The doctor generally recommends taking X-rays to identify the cause and then treat it. If the root resorption is caused by the underlying mass, timely treatment should be sought.

Prevention of loose teeth

The prevention of tooth loosening is also mainly aimed at related causes. Maintaining oral hygiene, regular oral inspection and oral cleansing are very important measures to prevent oral diseases.

Teeth loosening expert opinion

This entry mainly explains the definition of tooth loosening, the possible causes of tooth loosening and the corresponding countermeasures and preventive methods, in order to look forward to providing a bit of reference to friends who are conscious of tooth loosening. Specific conditions and treatment methods should also be checked by a doctor at the hospital. ^[1-3]