What Do You Do for a Loose Tooth Emergency?
Dental emergencies have a knack for knocking at an unexpected time. You might be enjoying your favorite meal or having a fabulous time with your family or colleagues, and the next thing you know, you need emergency dental services.
Always treat a dental emergency like a medical emergency. It is a situation that requires swift and prompt action. Failure to do so and your problem will escalate, and complications may arise.
Dental emergencies come in different forms. So, you could rack your brain trying to figure out if you are in a dental emergency and need urgent dental care or it’s a non-dental emergency. Knowing the difference can help you avoid unnecessary stress and save money and time.
Dental emergencies can range from knocked-out teeth to locked jaws. What would you do if faced with one? Or do you feel as though you have loose teeth? Most kids usually have loose teeth when they lose their primary teeth, though loose adult teeth signify that something’s out of whack.
What Causes Loose Teeth In Adults?
Always remember that adults shouldn’t have loose teeth. It is always a dental emergency, and if you don’t get treatment from our emergency dentist near you, you could lose your teeth.
Some of the factors that lead to loose teeth are:
- Gum Disease
This disease involves the inflammation and infection of your gums. Poor oral habits are usually the leading cause of the disease. Gum disease usually develops if you don’t brush and floss each day to remove plaque from your teeth. Plaque usually contains saliva, food debris, and bacteria.
Over time, the bacteria affects the gum tissue causing it to recede or pull away, creating spaces between the gums and the teeth. It is when the infection begins. If not treated, the infection spreads to the bones and tissue supporting the teeth. It causes the teeth to become loose.
- Pregnancy
Pregnancy comes with a lot of changes. Estrogen and progesterone levels usually rise and affect the mouth’s bones and tissues. If you are not careful, you might develop gum disease during pregnancy.
- Impact Injury
You might have healthy teeth, but an impact from a blow to your face can damage teeth and surrounding tissue. Your tooth might not get knocked out, but it can become loose.
What Should I Do If My Tooth Feels Loose?
You should contact our emergency dentist immediately. If you notice that your teeth are loose, you should seek emergency dental services within 12 hours. It will increase the chances of our dentist giving you the treatment you need.
In any case, you could do the following:
- Keep your tooth in place, and don’t play with it. Avoid touching and moving your tooth with your tongue to straighten it out. Any sort of motion will make things worse.
- Steer clear from chewy, sticky, or hard foods. You might be hungry and wish to eat something before seeing our dentist. If you choose to eat anything, avoid these foods since they worsen the situation.
- Keep your teeth clean, but don’t floss and brush. Swish some water in the mouth and avoid brushing since the movement can move the teeth.
How to Get Help From an Emergency Dentist
Our emergency dentist near you will provide treatment depending on the cause. Therefore, you might be eligible for one of the following treatments:
- Root planing and scaling – These procedures are perfumed to remove the hardened plaque along the gum line. Plus, you will receive antibiotics to deal with the infection.
- Flap surgery – Our dentist performs this procedure to clean under the gum line. This procedure can help prevent tooth loss.
- Splinting – Our dentist might choose to splint the tooth to stop it from moving.
- Bone grafting – If there’s bone deterioration, our dentist may decide to perform bone grafting to repair the diseased bone.
- Medicinal mouth rinses – These mouth rinses effectively manage gum disease since they kill bacteria, giving your gums time to heal.
It is always best to fix your loose teeth before the inevitable happens. So, contact our dentist at Tru Plano Dental to get the care you need.