Do you have a Loose Tooth or Loose Crown?

If you find yourself with a loose tooth or a loose crown like I had the other week, then call the Vartanian Dental Group immediately so they can take a look. Unless you are six or seven years old, your teeth should not be loose. I sometimes find myself grinding my teeth and sometimes when I do it for a long period of time, my dental crown tends to come loose. Of course, the doctor recommended a mouth guard to wear at night, which is a good idea, but honestly, I’m the type of person that would get it and never wear it. Besides, I catch myself grinding my teeth during the day, usually when I’m stressed out about something.

My tooth was loose, so I called Dr James Vartanian from The Vartanian Dental Group in Mission Viejo and we went over my entire mouth again. I have had several crowns and veneers put in over the years and most of the work was done about fifteen years ago, so some of it is getting old and starting to fail. She checked my bite, both from the dental chair position as well as sitting upright and found that my teeth have shifted ever so slightly over the years, causing me to change where my teeth come together. When I grind my teeth hard, that is when my problems begin. A slight adjustment of the crown and I was feeling a comfortable bite for the first time in years. It was better than it had ever been. I can’t thank Dr James Vartanian enough for the amazing gentle care he takes with me and every patient that walks through the door.

It is possible that the crown has become loose even before you knew it. The longer a crown is loose, the more likely the tooth underneath will start to develop problems like a cavity, or even worse, decay to start to set in. It is possible that tooth decay under the crown is the reason it came loose in the first place. This happened to me in the case of a cracked crown. A cavity started developing, which caused my dentist to have to drill it out. Luckily, we caught it in time before any real damage was done.

If you feel that your tooth, crown, Veneer or bridge becomes loose or feels different in any way, it is important to call The Vartanian Dental Group as soon as possible at 949-586-5669. Your teeth will be examined and an x-ray will be taken to find the reason the crown came loose. It is possible that the crown came dislodged to eating something hard or very sticky. Most of the time, the crown can be successfully removed and re-cemented. This is what happened to me a couple of weeks ago. A common reason a crown becomes loose is the presence of tooth decay underneath the crown.

In my case, there was very little tooth to grab onto in the first place due to a motorcycle accident as a teen. If this is the case, it is important to remove the crown to clean away the decay to prevent further damage to the tooth underneath.