How healthy are your teeth? Although many people are quick to underestimate their dental health, the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of different elements that play into overall dental wellness. From how often you brush and floss to how regularly you attend regular checkups, it is important to stay in close communication with your dentist, especially if you come down with a new symptom. The purpose of this website is to help people to understand and resolve dental issues, since small symptoms can lead to big problems down the road. Check out these posts to learn more about dental care.
A loose tooth is on its way to falling out if you don't take the necessary treatment steps. Identify the common causes of teeth loosening so you can preempt the problem. Below are some of the typical causes of loose teeth.
Gum Disease
Gum disease doesn't restrict itself to your soft gum tissues. The bacteria that attack the gums can easily spread to other tissues if you don't take immediate action. The bacteria can spread to the teeth ligaments, the roots of the teeth, and even the jawbone. There, the bacteria can cause enough damage to weaken the attachment between the teeth and the jawbone.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease that attacks the bones and demineralizes the bone tissues. The demineralization decreases bone density, which effectively weakens the bone. Osteoporosis can attack any bone of the body, including the jawbone. A weakened jawbone won't be able to hold to strongly hold the teeth. Not only that, but the decreased bone density increases the risk of bone fracture. A fracture around a tooth can loosen the attachment of the tooth to the jawbone.
Dental Trauma
Dental trauma is any injury that affects the teeth and the tissues around the teeth. Trauma can come from various sources. An example is an accidental blow to the mouth (for example, when playing a contact sport). Another example is bruxism (chronic teeth grinding and clenching).
All these various forms of trauma can weaken your teeth or jawbone and loosen your teeth. For example, minuscule fractures around the root of a tooth can weaken its attachment to the jawbone.
Teeth Loss
Losing a tooth can loosen the adjacent teeth. For example, when you lose a tooth, the remaining teeth experience more bite pressure than they previously did. The increased pressure can lead to dental trauma, which can loosen the remaining tooth. Secondly, losing a tooth gives the adjacent teeth more wiggle room, and the more your teeth wiggle, the more they are likely to loosen.
Hormonal Changes
Lastly, hormonal changes to the body can also lead to loose teeth. If your body experiences a surge of hormone production, the extra hormones can affect the tissues surrounding the teeth, which can weaken the teeth. These hormonal changes are the reasons some pregnant women or women in menopause experience loose teeth.
Hopefully, you won't suffer from loose teeth any time soon. If you already have the problem, however, contact your dentist to diagnose and treat the issue. Note that even though replacement teeth exist, it's much better to retain your original ones.