A healthy and shiny set of teeth is a blessing. It improves your personality and makes you feel good, but your teeth are supposed to remain firmly secured and not wiggle. So, you could be surprised to notice sometimes that your teeth—even the healthy ones—move just a little bit. Don’t be shocked as nearly 1% of an inch of movement is completely normal for your healthy teeth. But if your tooth moves beyond that, you need to worry as it may be a loose tooth.
How and why do healthy teeth move?
The reason is periodontal ligament, which is the tough, stretchy stuff that secures your teeth in place. So, if your tooth moves a little bit with your tongue, nothing to worry about! The case with dental implants or artificial teeth, though, is different. They shouldn’t move at all as these are supposed to be anchored solidly in the bone.
Why do dental implants move?
In the majority of the situations, these move or come loose because the implant may have failed to bond properly to the jawbone. Generally, this situation crops up after a week or so of wear. Hence, if you find your implant loose, the chances are high that they may be failing, and it’s high time you sought advice from your dentist. This isn’t to rule out some other possible causes for your loose artificial tooth. In some particular situations, only the crown may have become loose, and your dentist may easily fix it–just by screwing it down firmly.
What May Lead to A Loose Dental Implant?
Among the many causes, these three are the most important ones:
1. Loose crown – Your implant may be in rather nice shape, but the implant-supported crown (fake tooth) could be somewhat loose. While this doesn’t happen commonly, your crown may lose its grip and become loose over a period of time before it begins to move a little. Since the life period of your crown is comparatively of a shorter duration (between 14 and 15 years), vis-à-vis the implant itself (28-30 years), it’s a likelihood if you’ve had your implant for a while.
2. Peri-implantitis – It’s gum disease and hits dental implants. If you don’t take the right care of your gums, the implant region can become infected and bacteria will harm the adjoining bone and gum. Consequently, your implant may lose its grip and become loose.
3. Botched osseointegration – Your artificial tooth may have failed to bond properly with your jaw bone. The good news, it doesn’t typically happen. It takes place only if something didn’t go as planned during the implant surgery process, or if there has been a case of an allergic reaction and your body has reacted to the procedure for the process. Normally, it will take place within 11-12 months of the original procedure.
What are the Major Symptoms of Loose Dental Implant?
While there are several different possible causes of implant failure, these are the important ones:
- Throbbing pain in the region where there has been an implant
- Discoloration of the affected region near your artificial tooth
- Bleeding upon touching
- Visible loss of bone and deep-set gums
- Feeling of the implant or the artificial tooth moving or shifting its place
- Finding it difficult to chew or bite down your food
- Unusual gum collapse
- Noticeable swelling
If you’ve been feeling or noticing any of these symptoms, don’t be surprised if you find that you have a loose dental implant or crown.
What to Do If Implant Feels Loose?
To begin with, don’t touch it or shift it in any manner ( even though you may feel an urge to do so). And for the time being, don’t brush it or chew around the region. Next, schedule an emergency consultation with a skilled implant professional.
Don’t try to treat a loose implant on your own. Certainly not recommended! You aren’t a qualified dentist, right? But don’t leave it untreated or unattended either because the problem will not vanish into thin air. On the contrary, it may get worse and prove rather costly for you in terms of your health and well-being. A loose implant—if left untreated—may bring severe infection that could soon cover your mouth, jaw, face, and neck. So, see an experienced dentist ASAP. Get a qualified opinion for your loose implant, so you can get the help you need and start enjoying your smile again.
If possible, try to visit your dentist within 48 hours or so. If an implant needs to be replaced, they will gently take it out and clean and disinfect the region thoroughly. If the bone is unbroken around the area of the removed implant, there won’t be requirements whatsoever for any bone graft. However, if there is any sort of bone loss, a bone graft may be needed to improve the area for substituting the implant.
Is it possible to replace a damaged implant right away?
In most situations, a broken artificial tooth may be removed and substituted right away with a new one. However, in some other circumstances, you may have to cool your heels for some time before you get a new artificial tooth. The reason: if there’s an infection around the implant, the dentist treating you will first make certain that he or she clears it up before they put in a new artificial tooth. If they find that the bone around the implant isn’t quite thick and strong enough to sustain decent osseointegration, they may do a bone graft to make the region stronger and make certain that the next implant doesn’t fail like the previous one.
Summing-up
A Loose dental implant could be failing. Consult an experienced dentist as soon as possible—ideally within the next 48 hours. An untreated, loose implant may create serious health problems for you, including severe infection in the affected area that may soon spread from your mouth and jaw to your face and neck.
If you are looking for the best dental implant dentist in St. Augustine who can help you with your loose implants, Call Palencia Dental today at (904) 474-5444 to schedule an appointment.
