Is it normal for teeth to move slightly?

[Judythecat]

I was taking off my lipstick tonight and am sure I felt one of my lower front teeth move. Help! I had a checkup at the end of October, everything fine, and gum test scores were 0s and 1s. Would my dentist have noticed mobility as standard?

I clench, and previously clenched an upper tooth to slight mobility by essentially ramming it into my night guard, which at the time was a soft upper splint. I now have a hard lower splint. Could I have done the same? The upper tooth was apparently bordering on “grade one mobility”.

 

[drhirst]

The test for mobility is to very gently try to move the tooth between two metal instruments (as opposed to fingers which are soft and not do not detect minor movement well). There is also another test where you place a finger on a tooth and ask the patient to bite together. If that tooth is being overloaded, one can feel the extra pressure on it through the finger.
On the whole, these tests are only done when a dentist notices something during the check up that suggests there may be mobility issues.
If you are worried, just mention your concerns to your dentist, I have no doubt he or she will be happy to check for you.

Lincoln

 

[Gordon]

Your teeth are designed to move slightly all the time when you eat/clench, there's a wee ligament in place between the bone and tooth to act as a sort of shock absorber, they aren't set solidly into the jaw bones.

If you've got shorter than normal roots and you press in the right direction, then you might detect a bit of movement, however it doesn't mean that there's anything wrong, just your teeth doing what they're meant to do. Think trees in high winds

 

[NicoFearDent]

Hi all.

I have a massive phobia of the dentist. It took a lot of me to go not once, but twice for this issue. And I still feel worse than ever.

So I went to the dentist, because I had a very weird feeling in one of my front teeth. It’s not the front 2 it’s the one to the left of it between the canine tooth. (So second tooth on the left).

It sometimes has the feeling it is moving. I describe it as clicking? But it makes no sounds. Just like the feeling that it’s moving. It comes and goes too! It’ll be there for days and then go away for months and then come back.

I have got it in my head that it is falling out. I’ve got it in my head that it’s moving and it’s wiggling and it’s going to fall out. I have used my nails to pinch it to see if it’s wiggling and there appears to be no movement? Other than the sensation of my nails actually wiggling.

It really scares me. And I’ve been twice to see about it and they say that there’s nothing wrong!! But im still getting this feeling and if it falls out I don’t have the money to replace it and I smile a lot; I wouldn’t be able to go outside again!

What can this be!

 

[Gordon]

Bear in mind the teeth are designed to move slightly, they aren't solidly embedded into the jaw bones, so you could be able to notice a very slight movement if you press in the right direction.

 

[Carrotcake00]

Hi all. First of all, thanks for creating a forum like this. It is not easy to talk about dental problems with everyone.

I grinding my teeths everyday by bruxism (not just when I sleep). All my appointments with the dentist were canceled by Covid. I'm desperate, I bought a dental guard by amazon until I can use a personalised one, but a friend told me that is not recommended to use it. Is even better use nothing if is not done by a professional. Also I'm worried because sometimes I notice that I can move a frontal tooth with my fingers, although I cannot see it, other times it is as if I returned to the site. Is that normal?

 

[Gordon]

Any guard is better than nothing, so use the Amazon one.
Slight movement of teeth in their socket is normal, they aren't stuck firmly in the bone, there is a little ligament between the 2 which helps to absorb the shocks of chewing and biting.