In adulthood, a permanent tooth that moves is always a symptom of a problem that must be solved promptly. If one or more of the teeth move it is necessary to schedule a check-up as soon as possible to avoid completely losing the tooth.
Tooth that moves: the causes
Usually, a moving tooth is linked to two types of trauma involving dental occlusion, or the way in which the two arches come into contact when we close the mouth.
The two traumas are:
* primary occlusal trauma, which occurs when the healthy periodontium (gum tissue) undergoes excessive forces and pressures related to chewing. Often this trauma is related to the bad habit of grinding teeth.
* secondary occlusal trauma, more common than the previous one. It occurs when the gum tissue and bone that support the teeth are weakened by gum disease. In this condition, even the normal forces exerted during chewing can cause serious damage to the part of the gum immediately above the tooth and therefore be the cause of the tooth that moves.
There can be several reasons for moving teeth:
* Periodontitis, or pyorrhea: the infection of the periodontium causes the progressive breakdown of the supporting tissues of the teeth and the formation of so-called periodontal sacs, determining the mobility of the teeth. In this case it is important to intervene quickly with a deep cleaning that completely removes the plaque, at the origin of the action of the bacteria that attack the periodontium.
* Malocclusion: in this case it would be a mechanical damage to the periodontium caused by a badly distributed chewing load. It will be the orthodontist to intervene in this case.
* Trauma: if after a fall or trauma, you find yourself with a swinging tooth, there is probably a lesion of the hard tissues (enamel, dentin, root) or of the supporting tissue of the tooth (periodontium).
* Dental abscess: this type of acute infection develops as a result of deep and untreated caries and can affect the alveolar bone, the periodontium and the gum. The first thing to do in case of an abscess is to proceed with antibiotic therapy.
* Braces: if you have undergone orthodontic treatment with dental braces, the mobility of some teeth is normal because they are subjected to forced traction. In this case, there is no need to be alarmed because the phenomenon will end with the end of the therapy, without any consequences.
Moving tooth: remedies and treatments
To prevent a moving tooth from becoming a missing tooth, this must be done promptly.
* Evaluate and treat any type of underlying pathology. If the triggering cause is inflammation of the gums, our first goal is to stop it so that it does not cause further damage. The best solution is to remove the plaque, a thin bacterial film that is usually the cause of the infection.
* Reduce the forces exerted during chewing. If your teeth move due to overly "aggressive" chewing, there are a few things we can do. The first is to reshape the surface of the teeth so that they receive less pressure when chewing. Another approach is to minimize the effect of teeth grinding with a special "bite" to wear this is a resin mask that prevents the teeth from coming into contact with each other and is usually worn at night.
* Perform the “splinting” of the teeth. Splinting is a technique that allows to stabilize the position of the teeth and is performed by fixing a metal wire on the internal surface of the affected teeth. This technique is normally performed after the pyorrhea treatment has been carried out to keep the teeth stable. It is a temporary treatment to allow the moving tooth to stabilize.