What to Do About Loose Teeth as an Adult

We’ve all had loose teeth, but for most of us, these were our baby pearly whites. Once our adult teeth grow in, they should stay there permanently. 

But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, even as adults, we can get loose teeth. What causes this problem, and what can you do about it?

Loose adult teeth are a serious concern. Once they’re gone, they don’t grow back in, and that gap may lead to other dental health issues. This blog explains the multiple causes of loose teeth and what you can do to prevent losing them.

Is a Loose Adult Tooth Dangerous?

Loose teeth in children are a cause of excitement! It means they’re growing up, losing their baby teeth, and their permanent ones are on the way.

But adults don’t get to enjoy the magic of a loose tooth. Instead, this problem means there was either trauma to the face or jaw or an underlying issue causing damage to the teeth and gums.

A loose tooth isn’t an immediate emergency by itself. Depending on why it isn’t firmly in place, yours might even correct itself and tighten back up. 

Picture the ligaments connecting your teeth and jawbone as rubber bands. The periodontal ligaments are anchored in place by cementum, but the fibers they’re made of are pliable. Sometimes, they get a little loose and may shift, like during pregnancy and as the jawbone moves with age. This design is why orthodontic treatments like braces and Invisalign work — with some convincing and patience, the appliances can move your teeth into a straighter, healthier position! 

But when teeth shift or loosen without intent, something is causing the ligamental fibers to relax. If you want to prevent them from giving way and letting the tooth go, you need to figure out what’s going on.

Proper care and early treatment can save a mildly loose tooth. However, left untreated, loose adult teeth can lead to infection and tooth loss.

How Do I Know If I Have a Loose Tooth as an Adult?

In some cases, a loose tooth shows apparent signs. You can wiggle it or see it visibly move when you chew. If you can move your adult tooth, it’s important to schedule an appointment with your dentist immediately to try to prevent the tooth from falling out.

Be a Loose Tooth Detective: Spot the Early Signs

The good news is that there are other warning signs that your tooth may be coming loose before it gets to this obvious point. With a bit of focused oral hygiene and extra attention to your teeth and gums, you can watch for early indicators of ligament laxity, such as:

• Changes in the color or sensitivity of your gums
• Inflamed gums
• Bad breath
• Tooth sensitivity when you eat, brush, or floss
• A change in your bite when you chew
• Discolored teeth

These minor signs might not seem like much at first. But if you have reason to think a tooth (or multiple teeth) might be coming loose, your gums and teeth sensitivity are letting you know that you’re probably right. 

What Causes Loose Teeth?

The statistics on tooth loss in adults might surprise you. 

The typical adult human has 32 teeth, but research shows that by age 64, the average adult only has 27 of these teeth left! In fact, 2.2% of adults in this age group have no natural teeth.

At some point, those missing teeth were once loose, and they were not corrected before they fell or were pulled (extracted) out. What happened?

Chances are, the people in this study had one or more of the following issues that cause loose teeth:

Periodontal Disease

As you’re monitoring your oral health to detect any warnings of teeth on the verge of movement, you may notice red, tender, swollen, or bleeding gums. These are symptoms of gum disease. When this condition progresses, it becomes periodontal disease — the leading cause of tooth loss. 

Early gum disease is called gingivitis. At this stage, the damage is reversible with extra TLC to your teeth and gums to eliminate the bacteria and plaque buildup. Without treatment, the gums become inflamed and get infected. The plaque on your enamel hardens and becomes tartar, pulling the gum from the teeth and leaving a gap ripe for infection. The bacteria multiply and erode the bone and tissue around the teeth.

If you suspect you may have gum disease, make an appointment with your dentist for a diagnosis. Treatment could be as simple as a deep cleaning procedure called scaling and root planing, or medicated mouth rinses to heal infected gums and eliminate extra bacteria.

Trauma

Trauma to the head, whether from an accident or a contact sport injury, can shift the ligaments and bone enough to loosen a tooth.

Always visit your dentist or the emergency room after an impact injury to check for signs of chipped or broken teeth. Without early detection, the damage of a fractured tooth can cause dangerous nerve damage.

Always wear a mouthguard when playing contact sports or engaging in other potentially harmful activities to reduce the risk of injury to the teeth and gums.

Bruxism

Injuries aren’t the only reason people end up with cracked, chipped, or fractured teeth. It’s possible that they cause this issue themselves if they’re a bruxer! Yes, in sleep bruxism, better known as teeth grinding, a person can generate enough teeth-on-teeth contact pressure to loosen or crack a tooth. 

Bruxism is common in adults and children. The condition has various potential causes, but stress and anxiety are the main reasons for adult sleep grinding. A custom-made night guard, like those we offer at JS Dental Lab, can prevent further damage to your teeth while you determine what’s causing your bruxing behaviors.

Hormone Changes 

During pregnancy and menopause, the levels of estrogen and progesterone fluctuate. These hormone changes affect the bones and tissues of the whole body, including the periodontium in the mouth. This collection of bones and ligaments keeps the teeth in place. During hormonal changes, teeth can feel loose. 

If you’re going through this stage, talk to your doctor about your concerns. They’ll likely resolve when your hormones adjust, but your doctor may recommend testing to rule out other underlying conditions or suggest a night guard to reduce enamel and gum damage.

Learn More: Why Teeth Can Shift During Menopause (and What to Do About It)

Osteoporosis

We’ve reviewed how the jawbone is essential to healthy teeth, acting as a place for the periodontal ligaments to anchor.

Osteoporosis is a disease that affects bone density. When this condition spreads to the jaw, the teeth don’t have the firm support they need for stability, and they can become loose or fall out.

Medications

Are you concerned about symptoms that show your teeth may be coming loose? Check your medications — they could be the culprit.

Prescriptions, herbal medicines, and over-the-counter medications can cause side effects, such as dry mouth and other oral health complications, which increase the risk of tooth decay. Over time, this issue can cause teeth to loosen.

Bad Habits

Those studies that showed adults with many missing teeth also revealed a crucial fact: certain bad habits increase your risk of loose teeth.

Tobacco users are at the top of the list, but you are more likely to see loose or missing teeth in the future if you:

• Chew hard objects (pen caps, fingernails, and ice, for instance)
• Use your teeth as tools to open things
• Skip out on daily dental care

How Can You Treat Loose Teeth at Home?

Now that you’ve narrowed down the potential cause of your loose tooth, you’re ready to tackle it and keep it from worsening. While there’s a range of treatments for loose teeth, the right course of action for you depends on the reason behind its wiggly movements.

If you think the issue is mild enough to take care of it yourself, preventative care is the first step. With a holistic approach to your oral health, it’s possible to reverse the damage and keep the tooth from loosening more or tightening back into place.

Consider making the following tasks part of your daily habits:

• Practice good oral hygiene — Brush your teeth twice a day, floss daily, and use mouthwash to eliminate excess bacteria.
• Use a custom-fit night guard — Whether you’re a bruxer or not, night guards can prevent your teeth from touching in your sleep and halt the progression of shifting teeth. It’s important to note that OTC night guards aren’t designed for your unique teeth shape and can do more harm than good.
• Try saltwater rinses — Since one of the main causes of loose teeth is gum disease, at-home care should focus on reducing bacteria and inflammation. A saltwater rinse is a natural and effective way to reach this goal.
• Change your diet — Switching to a soft foods diet while you give your teeth and gums time to heal is wise. Avoid hard and chewy foods, and increase your consumption of foods with teeth-friendly vitamins and minerals. (Think: calcium, Vitamins A, C, D, and K, and magnesium.)

With these daily habits, your teeth and gum health should improve naturally. However, keep those detective skills handy, and monitor your mouth for any signs of regression.

Is My Loose Tooth Beyond Saving?

If you’re one of the many adults with a loose tooth hanging by a thread (or, in this case, a periodontal ligament), you’re wondering if it’s too late and the tooth is beyond saving. Your dentist is the best judge, but we want to remind you to always consult your dentist if a loose tooth is due to trauma.

Beyond injury, it’s possible that the tooth can’t be saved if you have:

• Bone loss or advanced gum disease
• Severe pain
• A tooth that moves easily with light contact

In these cases, what’s next?

What you consider too far gone to save might actually be salvageable with the right dental treatment. Today’s dentistry technology is full of marvels!

Tooth-Saving Techniques

When you visit the dentist for your loose tooth, they may suggest one of the following procedures before they decide to extract it:

• Root canals to try to salvage the remaining healthy part of the tooth
• Surgery to remove inflamed or dead gum tissue and bone damage
• Soft tissue grafts (gum grafts) to halt the spread of gum recession and strengthen tooth placement
• Bone grafts to rebuild damaged bone from gum disease
• Treatment for the underlying cause (Conditions like diabetes or the use of prescription medication could continue to damage your oral health. The reason for the loose teeth must be treated to prevent more problem teeth.)

Yet, even if you must lose the tooth entirely, that doesn’t mean you’ll always have a gap in your teeth.

Tooth Replacement Techniques

So you’ve heard the dreaded word: extraction.

This surgery is sometimes necessary to prevent the damaged tooth from becoming infected and spreading that illness to the rest of the body. 

When you lose a tooth — whether to an extraction or from falling out on its own — an implant is a potential solution. Dental implants are artificial teeth that are anchored into the jaw like a natural tooth.

Today’s implants are so realistic, most people can’t tell they’re there! 

A dental bridge is another way to fill in the gap left by a missing tooth. This appliance is like an implant, but it fits over healthy teeth on both sides, forming a bridge connected by the artificial tooth.

Bridges and implants are becoming more common today. Bridges are less invasive as they’re removable, so they don’t involve the complicated surgery of an implant. However, once an implant is placed, it acts and looks like a natural tooth and can last for decades.

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Conclusion

Finding out that your tooth is loose as an adult is never a happy moment. The Tooth Fairy isn’t coming to give you money or rewards for your adult tooth — instead, you may have to pay to fix the problem!

Yet, depending on how loose the tooth is and what’s causing it, it may be easy to treat at home with a night guard and extra oral hygiene.

Talk to your dentist to find out your treatment options for moderately and severely loose teeth. For teeth that are in the early stages, a night guard from JS Dental Lab and regular dental checkups might be what you need to save your teeth from more damage.

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