worried about loose tooth and inflamed gum

[noIdeaforAName]

My canine crown [it's about 10 years old] suddenly began to wobble a week ago and i noticed a crack in it at the top,its since gotten worse and become loose a fair amount in all directions and my gum around it has become sore[much worse after eating] and red with some sort of scar at the back side, also feel bit of a bad taste/smell. I'm realizing now it maybe didn't crack but came away from where it meets the bone/tooth underneath? Its a tiny bit senstive to touch but not toothache level yet.

so i'm worrying i've left my teeth to get bad for too long due to being phobic and it could now be periodontitis and an abcess?, I made a dentist appointment but its not for a month, they didnnt seem concerned when i called and explained.i dont know if I need to treat this as an emergencyor not, if the tooth is going to fall out [it moves a lot like a loose baby tooth] or i could be over worrying and anxious.
Would apprecaite if anyone could help on how bad it is or had any advice how to care for it while waiting for the appointment. Ive been using salt water rinses in case it was an infection but im scared to floss it now as it becomes significantly more loose when i floss it.
i've got myself mentally convinced im in advanacted periodontitis and im doomed to loose all my teeth now because i dont know if i can even let the dentist do any work due to anxiety from bad past experiences. even just thinking of getting it examined makes me panic

 

[Gordon]

The crown has come loose. Don't fret about it, it needs recemented or a new crown at worst.

 

[noIdeaforAName]

thank you so much @Gordon that puts my mind at ease a bit, ill wait for the appointment.
What kind of procedure is re cementing? I cant cope with fillings or even scale and polish so unsure if i could manage it if its invasive or long.
so doesnt look like bad gum disease to you? just irritation from the crown moving?

 

[Gordon]

Depends on why the crown has failed, but usually it's a case of wiggling it out with your fingers, coating with cement and sticking it back in again!
No, it doesn't look like gum disease.

 

[noIdeaforAName]

Thank you again I feel much calmer from your comments Gordon. I really appreciate your input.

 

[noIdeaforAName]

I went to my appointment today and dentist agreed with you Gordon, no gum disease there and just irritated from food getting stuck and due to the crown moving around.

They couldn't fix it though as its on a post and still fairly stuck on at the post and back despite how much it moves, they were worried they could crack the tooth underneath if they tried to force it off so said I m best to wait for it to come off by itself to see what condition its in underneath. If lucky it will just need re-cemented, if not then it may need removed and a denture instead but trying to remove now would increase risk of that. They said could fall off itself soon or could take a long time, no way to know

I'm a bit worried of the worse case scenario as I'd need IV sedation to get the removal done, so could be 6-9months of no tooth, but dentist thought unlikely to be painful once it falls out.

Waiting for it to fall out doesn't sound much fun and worrying but they gave the gum around it a quick clean and I plan to just keep taking extra care to keep it clean and clear of food to hopefully increase chance it can be re cemented.

Wondering if I should buy a water pik to keep the gum cleaner, forgot to ask them.

Anyway, glad i managed to actually go and dentist was really nice about it, going back next month for a full check up of other teeth.

 

[Gordon]

but dentist thought unlikely to be painful once it falls out.

Very very unlikely I'd think!

Try a nice sticky toffee

 

[noIdeaforAName]

After 2 months of wobbling, the crown finally twisted a bit then slid out smoothly with the post attached, without pain. But had to wait 4 weeks for an appointment to try putting it back.


The remaining tooth (root?) is fine, not cracked or broken but is small/short. When the dentist tried to reattach the crown and post, the bite was off and uncomfortable, so they left it out. I noticed my gum grew a fair bit into the gap around the tooth during the wait, which might be why it doesn’t fit right anymore.


The dentist suggested either extracting the remaining tooth for a bridge or living with the gap and taking care of the remaining tooth. They put some cement over the post hole for now to seal it from bacteria.

Was disappointing that nothing was broken yet still a poor result.

@Gordon do you think there's risk in leaving the original tooth as is, if I'm okay with it cosmetically?

I worry a bridge might damage adjacent teeth and cause bone loss, but also assuming the tooths more prone to breaking without its crown, could leaving as is risk infection or adjacent teeth shifting? or should I try push for a new crown to be made to fit?

Feeling quite lost on what to do now or how to decide.

 

[Gordon]

do you think there's risk in leaving the original tooth as is, if I'm okay with it cosmetically?

No.

, could leaving as is risk infection or adjacent teeth shifting?

No risk of infection but yes, teeth could shift into the space a bit.

I worry a bridge might damage adjacent teeth and cause bone loss

Well, it'll involve doing crown preps on the adjacent teeth so it will certainly damage them! No, it won't cause bone loss.

I noticed my gum grew a fair bit into the gap around the tooth during the wait, which might be why it doesn’t fit right anymore

Yes, most likely. If the prep is very short then a new crown will likely fail quite quickly too.

 

[noIdeaforAName]

Thanks again Gordon, that put my mind at ease, if no major negative to it then thinking i'll just leave it alone then as its not too noticeable visually.

For anyone reading this in future with a similar worry, I was terrified about the crown coming out and obsessing over it for months, but in the end, now that its came out, I feel so much better and relieved that I can stop constantly thinking about it even if its not ideal to have lost it. Not nearly as bad as I expected as often is the case with anxiety. Hoping the gap gives me character

 

[Gordon]

Well having a big gap at the front didn't do Terry-Thomas any harm... (or Joe Jordan for our Scottish members!) I await comments of "Who?" from our younger viewers