Loose Teeth & Bite Problems
Our chewing tools, our mouth muscles, teeth, and gums, are miracles of nature. After all, tooth enamel is our body's hardest material, capable of handling just about anything. Unfortunately, this is of little use if our teeth are not firmly seated in the tooth pockets. To ensure that this is the case and that sticky sweets do not pull our teeth out of the tooth socket, we have a sophisticated periodontium.
The basis for the firm hold is the jawbone with its recesses for the teeth. Finally, there is a small gap between the root of the tooth and the jawbone, which contains the secret of tooth stability. There are strong connective tissue fibers that hold each tooth like a net and anchor it in the tooth socket.
Since it is connective tissue, the connection is tight but still elastic. This allows the tooth to move a little under load, which reduces the risk of wear. Higher up in the area of the tooth neck, each tooth is covered by the gums. Here, too, microscopic connective tissue fibers provide the necessary support. To put it simply, loose teeth are always due to a weakened periodontium. However, the reasons for this are varied.
Loose teeth due to periodontitis:
Periodontitis is an inflammation of the gums, which is usually discovered by frequent bleeding of the gums. Periodontitis is caused by bacteria build up in plaque that damages the gums. The gums then steadily retract until the necks of the teeth are exposed. This already loses a stability factor of the teeth. With periodontitis, the inflammation can spread to the retaining fibers in the tooth socket and to the jawbone itself. As a result, the teeth continue to lose significant stability and begin to wobble. However, thorough dental care and regular check-ups at the dentist can get the problem under control at an early stage.
When grinding your teeth makes your teeth loose:
Even though many people don't realize it, they grind their teeth at night. This is an enormous burden for the chewing tools. According to medical studies, forces of 70 to 80 kilograms or more are at work here. In the long run, this overload leads to enormous wear and tear of the tooth enamel and the fibers in the periodontium.
As a result, the overall construct visibly loses stability. Unfortunately, most of those affected do not notice the grinding of their teeth. A visit to the dentist can also help here. He can easily recognize teeth grinding based on characteristic signs of wear and can counteract this by prescribing a bite splint, for example.
Bone loss leads to loose teeth:
It often happens that not only one tooth wobbles. One loose tooth can effect the other teeth in your mouth. Of course, loose teeth are not actually an infectious disease, but, every loose or already fallen out tooth increases the risk of more loose teeth. The reason for this is the associated degradation of the jawbone, since the bone lacks the pressure from chewing. Since the human body works very efficiently on the principle of “what I don't need, I break down”, it also breaks down excess bone tissue in the jaw.
For this reason, it is particularly important that any tooth gaps that arise are adequately closed for dental health reasons. This is the only way to optimally protect neighboring teeth. There are now many options for this, which your dentist will be happy to advise you on. It doesn't always have to be an expensive prosthesis.