The sensation of feeling teeth chattering will surely have happened to each of us. It usually happens by biting into something particularly hard and elastic in an attempt, precisely, to break or defibrate it. A slight painful twinge in the tooth accompanied by its rocking startles us greatly. But, rest assured, the traumatic event resolves spontaneously in a very short time without any relics.
The teeth, in fact, are not “cemented into the bone” and do not have an absolutely firm position. On the contrary, between the bone and the tooth there is a kind of gap made up of elastic tissue (the periodontal ligament) that allows a fair amount of tooth mobility. In normality this natural movement is not even felt.
Causes and remedies for shifting teeth
When we talk about shifting teeth we are then referring to excessive mobility felt with concern.
We classically distinguish three origins sometimes clearly distinct, sometimes overlapping with each other.
The same is true for therapies: the three distinct factors involved point to different therapies, but which sometimes need to be undertaken simultaneously.
Mobility caused by mechanical factors
Causes
Pressure loads that produce non-axial but offset forces, in the long run, produce a kind of yielding of the elastic fibers of the periodontal ligament.
These events characteristically occur when one has misaligned teeth (presence of displaced precontacts) or poorly made prostheses that pull on residual teeth.
Therapy
Aimed at eliminating incongruous forces that dislocate teeth.
- Selective grinding: after detection of dental precontact in normal occlusion, enough enamel is removed to prevent the conflict between the involved teeth.
- Tooth locking (splinting): although the displacing cause has been eliminated, it is often necessary to resort to locking the teeth in a certain position. Like a sort of “cast,” the teeth are stopped to prevent continuous rocking from leading to their irreversible dislocation. This is usually done by applying fiberglass clamps soaked in polymerizable resin that solidifies stably between teeth.
Mobility caused by infectious factors
Causes
Classically, it is among the first symptoms (along with gum bleeding) of periodontal disease. Bacterial infection of the supporting tissues of the tooth cascades into a series of events such as marginal gingivitis, formation of infected pockets between teeth and bone, and lowering of the alveolar bone.
The result is a gradual decrease in the “tightness” of the teeth. These, in this condition, under the pressure of normal chewing loads tend to move gradually more and more noticeably.
Over time and as the pathology worsens, even physiological loads such as tongue thrust may be sufficient to displace the teeth generating, for example, foiling of incisors or tilting of molars adjacent to edentulous areas.
Therapy
In this situation, therapies, which are aimed at stabilizing the mobile teeth, must be preceded (or concomitant) with those aimed atarresting periodontal disease.
Mobility caused by inflammatory factors
Causes
Untreated destructive dental caries reaches the dental pulp causing pulpitis and abscesses. The inflammatory phenomena and their production of exudates cause a kind of floating of the affected teeth resulting in abnormal mobility.
Therapy
Treatment of the tooth by devitalization along with supportive antibiotic therapy is usually sufficient to completely reverse the mobility of the tooth in question.
What to do when the teeth move
Noticing that one tooth is moving more than the others or witnessing a rapid, yet progressive, misalignment of teeth should be a wake-up call not to be underestimated. The dentists at AIRAM Medical Center will best advise you on what to do.
