Happy Patient

Sixty-one-year-old gentleman has found that one of his front teeth gradually becomes loose and long (Fig.1 arrow).  He cannot eat very well.  The tooth is so loose that he is afraid that it may come out by itself.

X-ray shows that there is severe bone loss around the bad tooth (Fig.2 *).  Ideally, he should get an implant (a fixed tooth) after extraction.  Due to financial situation, he chooses an immediate removable denture. 

An impression is taken first.  The immediate denture is made in a lab then.  Today, he returns for extraction.  The denture is put on immediately after extraction .  His appearance changes dramatically in split second (Fig.3).  He does not feel pain at all when the loose tooth is gone.  As you may see, he is very happy. 

The loose tooth is probably due to injury.   The nerve of it is gone; the tooth looks like a piece of rock (solid, Fig.2 black arrowhead), whereas the nerve of the neighboring tooth exists (blue arrowhead).  Therefore, after injury to your front tooth, no matter how small or how insignificant it is, you need to see dentist regularly.  Get treatment when the tooth starts to deteriorate.

Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 09/24/2011, last revision 09/28/2012