Loose Tooth

[Callum]

I was told by my own dentist last year that one of my back molar teeth needs to have a root canal. Due to financial reasons and the fact that the tooth did not hurt, I left the tooth as it was and did not have any work done on it at the time.

Recently I have noticed some mild pain when I chew my food on that tooth and also the tooth feels a bit loose. Its suprising because none of my other teeth are loose. Could you tell me why this tooth has suddenly become loose and what should be done to make it more firm again.

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Hi

Thank you for your post. Teeth that need root filling should be root filled as soon as possible. If root canal treatment is delayed, then infection could develop around the root of the tooth and start to destroy bone around the roots leading to bone loss.

If sufficient bone is damaged, then the tooth becomes loose and you will notice tooth movement. Bone loss is serious because teeth can become so loose that they have to be extracted and also should you decide in future to have an implant to replace this tooth, you may find that due to loss of bone in that area, you need bone grafting to support the implant.

I Suggest that you book to see a dentist as soon as possible for a review of this tooth.