When you think of wobbling incisors, the first thought that comes to mind is that a child’s milk teeth are affected. But loosening of front teeth does not only affect children, but also adults. At an advanced age, the permanent front teeth can start to loosen so much that, at worst, they fall out. But what causes this and why can young adults also be affected by wobbly incisors?
Causes of a wobbling incisor
There are many different causes for a wobbling incisor. They can affect all age groups. In children from about 5-6 years of age, the milk incisors start to wobble because the permanent teeth initiate the tooth change.
The root of the milk teeth is broken down, which is why the milk tooth no longer has a hold in the jawbone. As a result, it becomes loose and eventually falls out so that the permanent tooth can follow. Another reason that affects all age groups is the influence of violence or an accident.
If the patient falls exactly on the incisors, they can break or fall out of the dental bed, so that they are loose and mobile. If the tooth is broken in the longitudinal axis, it must be extracted. In case of a fracture in the transverse axis, it depends on how deep the tooth has broken off, whether it can still be saved.
The deeper the fracture is towards the root, the worse is the life expectancy of the tooth. Wobbling incisors also affect pregnant women in some cases. During pregnancy, the structure of some tissues of the body changes to prepare for the birth of the child.
The gums and the dental bed are also affected. These tissues are also more susceptible to bacterial infections, which can cause gingivitis or periodontitis. The teeth are no longer held in the periodontium and wobble.
A visit to the dentist is recommended. Another reason, which tends to affect older patients from about 40 or 50 years of age, is periodontitis. In periodontitis (inflammation of the periodontium), the tooth bed is inflamed and can no longer hold the teeth firmly.
The bone around the roots loosens and the teeth wobble. A wobbling incisor can occur after a fall, accident or impact. The short-term excessive force from outside, which acts on the front tooth, can have massively damaged it and the surrounding tissue.
Therefore, the dentist should always be consulted in these cases. The dentist will examine the tooth carefully for possible damage. A longitudinal fracture is always the worst judgement that comes along with the extraction of the affected tooth.
If the tooth is split in two in the longitudinal fracture, it can no longer be treated, since bacteria could repeatedly penetrate the fracture gap and the tooth would no longer be stable. In transverse fractures, it is decisive where the fracture is located, and root fractures also have a poor chance of healing. In the case of fractures in the crown of the tooth, these can be treated with a filling or crown without opening the pulp.
Once the pulp is opened, the anterior tooth must first be treated with root canal treatment before it can be reintegrated into the dental arch with a crown: What to do if a tooth is broken? The mere blow from outside can also damage the nerve without anything having broken off or the nerve chamber having been opened at all. The patient often notices weeks later that the incisor turns greyish in color because it is no longer supplied with nutrients through the vessels in the tooth pulp.
Consequently, it must then be root canal treated and crowned. However, the external force does not always cause the tooth to break. Usually the incisor wobbles for some time, but biting directly on it can cause pain. The dentist then splints the loose incisor to the adjacent teeth so that it can heal firmly into the tooth bed. After the period of rest, the splint is removed and the tooth is fully resilient again.
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