Braces Panic - very loose molar

[NeilH]

Just after cleaning my teeth tonight I noticed one of my bottom rear molar's being very loose. If you push it, it tips over quite an alarming amount. There is no pain but the level of movement is way more than I expected. Anyone else experienced this? I must admit to having a bit of a panic attack over this and are worried that something is wrong. Any advice would be gratefully received.

[Gypsyphd]

Hi, I just had my braces put on over a week ago. My molars are loose as well and I feel it on the left side the most. When I press with my tongue I can feel what you are talking about. Teeth feeling loose is pretty normal I think, but if you are worried you can always call your ortho and see what they say. I'm just hoping it's part of the moving process! Keep us posted!

[TMJJill]

While a certain amount of 'looseness' is to be expected, it can be disconcerting.

My Panic story: I had one tooth... the one my dentist called the SUPERTOOTH... that completely freaked me out. I went in for an adjustment on a Thursday afternoon at the end of the day. My dentist put the archwire under my premolar bracket so it would have more leverage to encourage that tooth to erupt up a bit. I'd done this before with good success on a few other teeth earlier in my treatment. This time, it was different. By the next morning, it was loose and had popped up some. Within a few days, it was extremely loose and has come up taller than my canine next to it. My Orthodontic office was closed for spring break for over a week. I stayed on a liquid diet for about 9 days. Each day, I was freaking out more. I thought the tooth may fall out and I even contemplated taking the archwire off myself at one point. (I had SL braces and knew how to open the doors to make fixes.) They had me come in immediately when they returned. My dentist said he hadn't seen anything like that before, hence the 'supertooth'. All 4 techs in the office had to take a look. They seemed freaked out for me. They very painfully adjusted my archwire and in a week or so, it was closer to normal. Within a few weeks, it was settled into the proper positioning.

Anyway, a little looseness is normal, if it becomes more loose than what you feel comfortable with, I'd make a call to your Orthodontist.

[NeilH]

Many thanks for your replies. I called the Orthodontist yesterday and they offered me a next day appointment to come in and get it checked out. I had the appointment earlier today and it's all ok I'm pleased to report! I must admit to being more than a bit worried over the last couple of days but today the tooth seems more firmly rooted so I'm relieved this panic is over.

[TMJJill]

Glad to hear you are good. It is scary and nice to hear from the dentist that it is OK.