What to do if the incisor is wobbling? | Incisor wobbles

What to do if the incisor is wobbling?

First and foremost, it is important for the adult patient to visit the dentist as soon as possible. Especially patients with falls and trauma should go to hospital in advance to rule out craniocerebral trauma and cerebral hemorrhages. Afterwards a dentist or emergency service should be consulted if the family dentist does not have any more office hours.

The dentist can now start the therapy as soon as possible to preserve the tooth. In many cases, the wobbling incisors are immediately splinted to the neighboring teeth, so that they are strengthened and no longer have any inherent mobility. This is usually enough for the tooth to heal firmly again.

The patient should take care not to put too much strain on the tooth and not to bite off anything hard. Any overloading can cause the tooth to become loose. If the incisors are loose due to periodontitis, it is also advisable to go to the dentist early in order not to lose the teeth.

The dentist initiates periodontal treatment as soon as possible to remove the bacteria from the periodontium and gum pockets. The only case in which a wait-and-see approach can be taken is in the case of milk teeth when teeth are being replaced. In this case, the child may try to extract the tooth itself. Only if this does not work should the child go to the dentist.

How to diagnose a wobbly incisor?

The dentist tries to move the tooth and thus determines the degree of loosening, which is numbered from one to three. In case of trauma (accident, fall or blow), the radiographic diagnostics are consulted in order to see existing fracture lines. First, the dentist uses imaging techniques such as X-rays or a three-dimensional image (DVT) to determine whether fractures within the crown or root of the tooth are the cause of the increased degree of incisor loosening.

In case of a periodontal inflammation, the gum pockets are also measured in order to initiate periodontal therapy if necessary. In case of loosening of the incisors of pregnant women, often only a professional tooth cleaning is done if it is in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy. This can already lead to a hardening of the teeth. Wobbly milk teeth in children in the change of teeth are only pulled by the dentist in order not to hinder the eruption of the following permanent tooth.