Is extraction the inevitable fate for loose teeth? According to dentists from AKJ Dental Hospital, that’s not always the case. Whether extraction is needed or not depends on the severity of your dental issues. 

    Here comes some commonly seen situations.

    1. If tooth loosening is caused by dental trauma, a thorough check-up should be run first to see whether tooth roots have been injured and whether there is inflammation. If so, prompt treatments are generally required. Given that tooth roots are still salvageable, dentists are supposed to try their best to save the teeth instead of extracting them out.

    2. Deep cavities may also probably lead to tooth loosening. Whenever there is dental caries, you’d better visit a practitioner and have it fixed in time. In mild cases, a simple filling procedure will be enough to fix the problem. While for severe cases where caries has reached dental nerves, it’s a root canal therapy that will be required. 

    3. Generally the major culprit for tooth loosening and even loss is periodontal disease resulting from the accumulation of plaque and calculus. If the oral hygiene remains poor, there will be development of gum recession and alveolar resorption over time, ultimately leading to tooth loosening. In early stage, it’s possible to save the tooth with proper and timely periodontal treatment or periodontal splint for fixation. As for very severe cases, the tooth may no longer be repairable and need removing.  

    4. Besides, if you leave a missing tooth alone, its adjacent teeth will also incline and shift towards the blank socket over the long haul. And you may end up with losing three teeth. So it really demands your attention. 

    5. However, loose deciduous teeth during mixed dentition are regarded normal and usually require no interference. When retained deciduous teeth show signs of loosening, you don’t need to seek extraction for them either. Instead, you can eat some relatively hard food like corn to promote their shedding, creating room for the subsequent eruption of their permanent replacements.

    In closing, extraction is not the definite ending of loose teeth. Efforts should be made to save those which are still salvageable. This is a basic principle to which every dentist has to adhere. In terms of dental work, the fittest way would be the best one. Consult with your dentist and get a customized treatment plan for your case. 

    Please feel free to contact me if there’s any dental problem. (WeChat ID: aiyuan325180)