Sensitive or loose front teethSensitive or loose front teeth
This concern is different in nature from the others. It is a symptom, not a matter of looks, and it usually comes from the gums and bone. If a tooth is loose, timing matters. If treatment is put off, a tooth that could have been saved may be lost. At Wonjin Dental Clinic, we check the gums and bone before the shape.
On this page
First, we look at the cause
Two cases can look the same and still need different treatment if the cause is different. If you fix only the shape and leave the cause, the same problem usually comes back in the same place.
My front teeth are sensitive, but I was told I have no cavities.
Most often, the gums have receded and exposed the neck of the tooth. In that area, there is an open path for stimuli to reach the nerve.
The part of the tooth above the gum is covered by hard enamel, but the neck of the tooth that was below the gum does not have that layer. When the gums recede and expose this part, cold reaches the nerve almost directly. Hard brushing, gum disease and grinding are common causes of receding gums.
This is when
Your teeth look long, and the part near the gum is more yellow. Cold water causes a short, sharp twinge that quickly fades.
Then
Covering the exposed part eases the symptoms from the same day. But if the cause of the receding gums is not found as well, the gums keep receding.
What we look at first
If a front tooth is loose, does it have to come out?
It depends on how much bone is left. If there is bone left, we treat the tooth to keep it, but that amount shrinks while you put it off.
What holds a tooth in place is bone. As gum disease progresses, this bone breaks down, and the tooth loosens as the area holding it shrinks. Because this happens without pain, by the time a tooth is loose, a lot of bone has often already been lost. Lost bone does not come back on its own, so in this case the timing of treatment matters especially.
This is when
The tooth is loose, your gums bleed when you brush, and you have bad breath. The spaces between your teeth have widened, and your teeth look longer.
Then
First we stop the progression. We keep the teeth that can be kept. If a tooth is already putting the teeth next to it at risk, we tell you that plainly.
What we look at first
If only one tooth is loose, is that gum disease too?
Maybe not. If biting force is concentrated on that one tooth, it can loosen even without gum disease.
When the upper and lower teeth meet out of position, one tooth takes on force meant for the others too. The bone around that tooth breaks down under the excess force, and the result looks similar to gum disease. Grinding multiplies this force several times.
This is when
Only one tooth is noticeably loose, and when you bite it feels like that tooth touches first. Sometimes only that tooth is sensitive.
Then
Sometimes adjusting the bite height very slightly is enough to help. It is the treatment that changes the tooth the least, so we check it first.
What we look at first
Only one tooth has a dull ache and looks dark.
The nerve of that tooth is likely dying. Medicine for sensitivity or a filling will not fix it.
When the nerve is damaged by an old injury or a deep cavity, the pain is dull rather than a short, sharp twinge. When the nerve dies completely, the pain goes away, but that tooth alone turns darker. If inflammation forms at the root tip, the tooth feels as if it is lifted.
This is when
Only that tooth is dark. Hot things hurt, or something like a pimple appears on the gum and then goes away.
Then
The inside of the tooth needs treatment. A front tooth without its nerve breaks easily and turns darker, so the treatment includes a crown or color matching afterward.
What we look at first