Why is My Molar Loose?
Over the course of their life, a person’s teeth undergo significant stress, working hard to chew and bite and bearing the abuses we might inadvertently inflict on our teeth through injury or trauma. The teeth are designed to effectively support the stress of day-to-day life, and the molars and incisors are especially well-equipped to manage the bulk of the work during chewing. If you have one or more loose permanent teeth, especially if the loose tooth is a molar, your ability to eat safely and comfortably will be drastically compromised. A loose molar, or any loose tooth, could indicate a significant dental problem and requires immediate dental attention. It may be possible to save the loose tooth, but early treatment is key. The treatment for a loose tooth will vary depending on its cause. If a tooth loosens due to injury, your dentist may be able to splint the tooth into place, giving the ligaments and damaged tissue time to heal and secure the tooth in place. If a tooth loosens on its own, however, with no corresponding injury, it may be a sign that there’s a bigger problem with the oral cavity, like advanced gum disease. If you have a loose tooth and are also experiencing a bad taste in the mouth, pain in the gums, or chronic bad breath, it’s likely that your tooth is loose because of advanced gum disease.
A qualified dentist can determine what led to a loosened tooth, so make an appointment immediately if you find that you have one or more loose teeth. Waiting to address the issue is never a good idea, as a loose tooth that is caused by gum disease is likely to worsen over time if left untreated. When gum disease is left unaddressed and continues to worsen, treatment may be extensive and could include the extraction and replacement of the teeth. When intercepted earlier, a loose tooth may be able to be secured with less invasive treatments.
One option to stabilize a loose tooth is tooth splinting. Your dentist will splint the surface of the loose tooth and affix it to an adjacent tooth, using the strength of the adjacent tooth to stabilize the loose tooth. Once the tooth is stabilized, the ligaments that hold the tooth in place have time to recover and strengthen their connection to the tooth. Splinting a tooth requires minor surgery and usually takes a few weeks to fully heal. If your loose tooth was caused by grinding or clenching the teeth while sleeping, your dentist may recommend a mouth guard for you to wear at night. This will help reduce the strain that clenching and grinding puts on the teeth and gums, and with regular use, a mouth guard can restabilize a loose tooth within just a few weeks.
When a loose tooth is caused by gum disease, the best approach for restoring the tooth is treating the gum disease. In more advanced cases, gum disease may require intensive treatment. The first line of defense for advanced gum disease is a procedure called scaling and root planing, which involves pulling back the gum tissue to remove bacteria that has built up on the tooth root and under the gum line and then resurfacing the tooth root, which encourages the gum tissue to heal around the teeth. Scaling and root planing may be accompanied by an antibiotic treatment to kill any remaining infection. When scaling and root planing is not sufficient to restore the oral cavity to health, dentists may choose to use one of several minor surgical procedures to attempt to save the tooth. Removing and replacing a loose tooth with a dental implant may be recommended if the tooth is too loose to save.