What Should Our Bedford Patients Do If A Tooth Becomes Loose?

If a tooth starts to move unexpectedly, it’s time to act without delay.

For many of us, memories of having a wobbly tooth is something that happened many years ago as children. We would be encouraged to move it around gently until it fell out, or, in more extreme cases (and please don’t do this to your children) would have a piece of string tied around it and then the other end tied to a door which would be slammed shut to remove the obstinate tooth.

Wobbly teeth are certainly more common when it is a first tooth but it can happen at any age. This could be caused by a blow to the tooth, perhaps during sport, through teeth grinding, and, perhaps more likely, through advanced gum disease. This occurs when the bone becomes infected and damaged and weakens its hold on the tooth. This is why we encourage our Bedford patients to look after their gums as well as their teeth.

So, if this happens to us as an adult, what should we do about it?

Contact your dentist

This is the most essential thing and should be the first thing that you do when you notice a tooth has started to move, even if only a little. We can use x-rays, or scans if needed, to determine the cause and to work out an action plan to save the tooth if at all possible, or to extract it safely if not. In the latter case, we will be able to discuss alternatives such as dental implants.

In the meantime …..

Don’t pull at it

Don’t ‘fiddle’ with the tooth, testing it to see how loose it is. Any further manoeuvring of the tooth could make the situation worse. This applies to probing it with your tongue, as much as it does with your fingers.

Eat very soft foods

The softer foods you can eat, the better. In fact, if you call us straight away and ask for an emergency dental appointment, you may not have long to wait and, in this case, we suggest that you stick to things like thin soups or yoghurts to avoid any further issues. Definitely don’t eat anything hard or sticky that could put any pressure at all on the affected tooth.

Don’t try to pull it out

If the tooth is extremely loose, you might be tempted to think it is too late and it is best to pull the tooth out yourself, especially if it is moving around in a very inconvenient way. Please don’t do this. This could lead to infection, especially if the tooth is damaged as this could leave a small piece in the socket which would further decay and could cause complications.

Pain management

Even if you get a quick appointment, there is no need to be in pain until that time. The usual painkiller medication that you take should be sufficient, but if you are experiencing any discomfort that concerns you, or if your usual medication isn’t working, please do call our Bedford dentists who will be able to offer further advice on what you can do until we can see you and examine the tooth.

What will happen at the dentists?

The first thing that we will do is to examine the tooth. It may be that the cause and course of action is clear from an initial inspection.  Where this is not the case, we may need to take an x-ray or scan if we suspect the problem is occurring beneath the gum line.

If we find that there is some periodontitis which is causing the issue, we may decide to carry out ‘root scaling’ or ‘deep clean’. This is an invasive treatment which attempts to remove bacteria from the area and allows it to heal again. This can be successful but will depend on a lot of things. If the problem is significant, it may be the case that the tooth has to be extracted from the socket.

For the best chance of saving a wobbly tooth, you should act straight away. Prompt assessment and treatment is key to any success.

Replacement teeth

If the tooth needs to be extracted, that leaves the patient with the dilemma of what to do about it. It is very unlikely that most people will leave a visible gap in their teeth so they will need to look at the options available. Dentures are the most obvious solution to most people but these are not always the best choice. The can cause soreness of the gums and can move around, an especially embarrassing situation if it is a front tooth.

In our option, the best option for this issue is to have a dental implant placed. These are strong, secure and natural looking. Our dentist will discuss all of these options with you at the time.

If you need to contact us to book an emergency appointment because of a wobbly tooth or other issue, you can call The Dental Centre Bedford on 01234 819868. Our team looks forward to helping you.