Q.
Dear Experts I am very anxious and a bit depressed about loosing one of the very front teeth on my bottom jaw. For ages it has been a bit wobbly from time to time and slowly moving upwards and upwards to the point where the tooth had to be cut down by my dentist to keep it in line with the others. for a couple of years there has been a deep fissure in the gum directly below the tooth/ my dentist seemd very relaxed about it and said we could try to keep it going as long as possible, so I did not worry. Recently I have been very stressed for several months and forgotten to be so rigorous with the cleaning of that area. the tooth came out with no blood or hole. I have now have sudenly become aware of how the neighbouring teeth each have very little gum each on the missing gum side. while the rest of my mouth has a couple of mm gum recession it is far worse around the front 3 teeth. I am very worried about a denture. Is it likely that a gum graft could help to support these neighbouring teeth and stop them from following suit? My NHS dentist have never mentioned periontal disease, so I was unaware of the problem as there was never any bleeding. ive now looked at lots of dental sites on the internet and am horrified at what i didnt know and what i could have avoided. MAny Thanks for any light you could shed on stopping any further tooth loss. Many Thanks for your help.
Dear Experts I am very anxious and a bit depressed about loosing one of the very front teeth on my bottom jaw. For ages it has been a bit wobbly from time to time and slowly moving upwards and upwards to the point where the tooth had to be cut down by my dentist to keep it in line with the others. for a couple of years there has been a deep fissure in the gum directly below the tooth/ my dentist seemd very relaxed about it and said we could try to keep it going as long as possible, so I did not worry. Recently I have been very stressed for several months and forgotten to be so rigorous with the cleaning of that area. the tooth came out with no blood or hole. I have now have sudenly become aware of how the neighbouring teeth each have very little gum each on the missing gum side. while the rest of my mouth has a couple of mm gum recession it is far worse around the front 3 teeth. I am very worried about a denture. Is it likely that a gum graft could help to support these neighbouring teeth and stop them from following suit? My NHS dentist have never mentioned periontal disease, so I was unaware of the problem as there was never any bleeding. ive now looked at lots of dental sites on the internet and am horrified at what i didnt know and what i could have avoided. MAny Thanks for any light you could shed on stopping any further tooth loss. Many Thanks for your help.
A.
Sorry you are having such problems. I would advise that you request a referral to a Periodontist or Hospital Dental Consultant to seek advice. Oral hygiene is the key to helping prevent further tooth loss and eliminating risk factors like smoking. You need to find out what is going on with your other teeth and have a proper plan put in place to save your teeth and replace the missing teeth.
Sorry you are having such problems. I would advise that you request a referral to a Periodontist or Hospital Dental Consultant to seek advice. Oral hygiene is the key to helping prevent further tooth loss and eliminating risk factors like smoking. You need to find out what is going on with your other teeth and have a proper plan put in place to save your teeth and replace the missing teeth.
Dr Ian Dunn
PurelyPerio Clinic 334, PO Box 334, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 0AG Web: www.purelyperio.co.uk Tel: 01625 419700
