Loose molar - is extraction inevitable?

[Riley Blue]

I've a loose molar, the rearmost upper left tooth and for the last couple of weeks it's been a 'wobbler'.

I'd rather keep it as I'm a bit short of 'chewing' teeth being a victim of dental butchery in the past so there's the wobbler, a gap, single tooth, a gap then teeth round to the front - it's the same the other side.

Before I ring my dentist, what are the options - if there are any?

[GordonL]

Prognosis isn’t great, depending on how loose it is (pretty obvious really!). If you hope to keep it get it looked at as soon as you can.

[Riley Blue]

Thanks (I think!). What's the current rate from the Tooth Fairy?

[GordonL]

Sorry, reading that back it’s a bit vague.
Options are;
1) surgery to remove the perio pockets and get some tissue regeneration going
2) several loads of pocket planing plus maybe intra pocket antibiotic patches
3) splint it to an adjacent more sound tooth
4) leave it till it gets really loose or falls out itself

Those are kind of in descending order of cost. It’s possible to mix and match.

Hope that’s a bit more informative

[Riley Blue]

GordonL said:

Sorry, reading that back it’s a bit vague.
Options are;
1) surgery to remove the perio pockets and get some tissue regeneration going
2) several loads of pocket planing plus maybe intra pocket antibiotic patches
3) splint it to an adjacent more sound tooth
4) leave it till it gets really loose or falls out itself

Those are kind of in descending order of cost. It’s possible to mix and match.

Hope that’s a bit more informative

1) and 2) seem particularly appealing
3) is impossible as there's no adjacent tooth
4) my O/H suggested the string/door knob trick, I think she wants to slam the door

so a call to my dentist it is - on Monday, when I'm feeling brave...

[Mr Pointy]

Riley Blue said:

1) and 2) seem particularly appealing
3) is impossible as there's no adjacent tooth
4) my O/H suggested the string/door knob trick, I think she wants to slam the door

so a call to my dentist it is - on Monday, when I'm feeling brave...

1 & 2 are going to cost money - quite a lot of it (I've had it done). I'd consider whether the time has come to consider putting that money towards implants.

[GordonL]

That’s a fair point. It’s probably more cost effective to get an implant but some people have an emotional attachment to their natural tooth and want to hang onto it no matter what.

[cringle]

If your tooth is wobbly, this means you have chronic gum disease and the bone has SLOWLY shrunk away as a result of longstanding inflammation related to poor oral hygiene. It takes decades of neglect to reach this point. The same reason you are short of other chewing molars. Nothing to do with "dental butchery". Sorry to burst your balloon.

Oh yeah, on a sidenote, a dental implant probably won't be possible without extensive bone grafting. If you have neglected your teeth then putting a shiny titanium implant in at £2.5k probably isn't a good idea as you'll probably neglect that too.

[Armitage.Shanks]

cringle said:

If your tooth is wobbly, this means you have chronic gum disease and the bone has SLOWLY shrunk away as a result of longstanding inflammation related to poor oral hygiene. It takes decades of neglect to reach this point. The same reason you are short of other chewing molars. Nothing to do with "dental butchery". Sorry to burst your balloon.

Oh yeah, on a sidenote, a dental implant probably won't be possible without extensive bone grafting. If you have neglected your teeth then putting a shiny titanium implant in at £2.5k probably isn't a good idea as you'll probably neglect that too.

A tad harsh there Cringle old chum. It's a pity that those of us over 50 were not given such useful 'advice' by our dentists in relation to oral hygiene as it might have prevented the decay. From the 70s I don't recall a dentist offering up specific preventative advice. I do recall one giving me 4 Crowns (private work 'on the side') I didn't need and a mouthful of fillings.

[Riley Blue]

Armitage.Shanks said:

cringle said:

If your tooth is wobbly, this means you have chronic gum disease and the bone has SLOWLY shrunk away as a result of longstanding inflammation related to poor oral hygiene. It takes decades of neglect to reach this point. The same reason you are short of other chewing molars. Nothing to do with "dental butchery". Sorry to burst your balloon.

Oh yeah, on a sidenote, a dental implant probably won't be possible without extensive bone grafting. If you have neglected your teeth then putting a shiny titanium implant in at £2.5k probably isn't a good idea as you'll probably neglect that too.

A tad harsh there Cringle old chum. It's a pity that those of us over 50 were not given such useful 'advice' by our dentists in relation to oral hygiene as it might have prevented the decay. From the 70s I don't recall a dentist offering up specific preventative advice. I do recall one giving me 4 Crowns (private work 'on the side') I didn't need and a mouthful of fillings.

My dentist tells me that apart from some gum recession that is to be expected at my age (72) my teeth and gums are good.

There's also this thread about butchery: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I'm not fussed in the slightest by Cringle's supposition. The butchery happened to me in the 1960s since when, despite following the same dental hygiene, I've needed no extractions or fillings other than repairs to a couple of the old ones.