Are all teeth mobile ? with X-Ray

[DA11AS]

Do all teeth have a slight movement ?

I bit down hard on a cracker with my front teeth, the left one now hurts. I thought the tooth had a slight movement, but I noticed all my front teeth have a slight movement (you can slightly rock then back and forth).

If this is true, then maybe my aching left front tooth hasn't become mobile from the hard cracker.

What else could be wrong?

The tooth doesn't hurt when I bite down, or if I press or touch it.

Not really sensitive to hot or cold.

But! I am left with a constant dull ache which does subside from time to time, but the intense ache always comes back. It has been 5 weeks since the cracker incident.

I'm a bit unsure what a dentist will do...​

 

[Tink]

Re: Are all teeth mobile ?

Can't comment on your specific hurting tooth - you'll need a dentist for that! - but yes, all teeth are *very slightly* mobile. They're supposed to be - my hygienist says that's why they don't break when you chew stuff! If everything was completely rigid it would be a lot more fragile.

 

[DA11AS]

Re: Are all teeth mobile ?

I suppose that makes sense, thank you Tink for your reply.

My hurting front left tooth all started after I bit down on a cracker, its started to ache with some slight pain when biting down, so I did not eat on it for a few days.

The pain went after 2 days, but now I am left with a constant ache, and its been 5 weeks. Sometimes the tooth feels bigger than the rest, it just feels generally uncomfortable.

I cant image the tooth being cracked, surely I would have pain when pressing or biting down.

I did see a dentist about 2 weeks ago, he took an x-ray and said all was well, just give it time. If the ache does not settle, you may need root canal.

He said they most probably would not crown the tooth, because its a front tooth, he said crowns make front teeth weaker... is that correct?

This is the X-ray he took, the achy front tooth is the one in the middle on the 'right'.

Sometimes when I look at the x-ray, I can see what looks like a crack at the top near the root tip. There seems to be a horizontal line heading towards the nerve, or am I wrong. The dentist did not say anything about the line, so I though all must be well, but why does it ache so much?

 

[gentledental]

Is it this tooth with the red arrow?

​

 

[DA11AS]

Hi, no its this one with the red arrow.

 

[gentledental]

Well the good news is that the tooth doesn't show any decay or infection near the roots.
The bad news is that it looks like you have quite a lot of bone loss on all your teeth and that might explain why you get the mobile sensation..... It is not very clear on this xray radiograph so it might just be an artefact instead.

Did the dentist perform a cold test on the tooth? The nerve would normally react to cold if it is alive. If the tooth responds normally to cold then you more or less don't need root canal treatment.

What about the condition of the tooth? Has it ever been filled? Any visible cracks on the enamel?

What about the condition of the gums? Does it bleed? Do you have gum recession? Do you regularly get a scale and polish with an ultrasonic scaler (it's like a jet wash)? Do you floss daily?

 

[DA11AS]

Thank you for your help.

I have lost several rear molars over the years, they had old fillings from when I was in my early teens. Also some that were root canalled have now been extracted, due to them failing.

I thought you could not get bone loss as long as the bone was holding teeth in posting, can I get bone loss at the front, just from having teeth extracted from the rear?

No, the dentist did not perform the cold test, he just tapped on the tooth with his blunt instrument. I thought about the cold test after I had left, I wish I had asked him.

The tooth has no filling, but there is a very small chip in the lower right corner, has been like this for over 10 years with no problems.

Dentist said I have healthy gums, no bleeding.
Yes there is a bit of gum recession around the tops of the front teeth.
Yes, always floss.
Teeth are clean and white, no build up of plaque anywhere, had a scale last 6 months.

 

[gentledental]

Your body destroys the bone that anchors the teeth if there is chronic inflammation. Inflammation is usually caused by the bacterial toxins present in plaque so most people will have some degree of bone loss at a later stage of their life.
In some cases if you lose so much bone, then there will be less of this material to anchor your teeth down and that is why they become mobile. The bone also acts to act as shock absorbers so you can quite easily put too much force and then lead to pain if you have less bone.
I would ask your dentist to perform a pocket chart just to rule out the possibility of gum disease in your mouth. If you do then you are going to require further treatment to prevent progression.
Again gum recession is a sign of gum disease. When you get bone loss, the gum recedes to where the bone disappears.

In the meantime try a soft diet so you give that tooth a chance to recover. Also try some sensodyne toothpaste

 

[DA11AS]

Thank you ever so much for your help and advice, very much appreciated.

 

[DA11AS]

Hello again.

I saw my Dentist yesterday as the dull ache just will not go away, the dull ache turns into a more severe ache at times, seems to come and go.

My dentist said he can see nothing wrong with the tooth, x-rays make the tooth look perfectly fine.

I dont know what else to do, what could be wrong ?

Can a dentist tell if the tooth is dieing?

Can a dentist tell if the nerve or blood vessel has been damaged, when I bit down on the hard cracker?

Will my symptoms get any worst, its been 7 weeks since the trauma.

I'm worried as this is my front tooth, I certainly dont want to lose my front tooth, what if my dentist is overlooking something.