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Periodontal Splinting

If you have loose teeth as a result of gum disease, visit Portal Cypress Dentistry for periodontal splinting. We offer various dental services for preventing teeth mobility to ensure you get back your healthy and beautiful smile. Get in touch with us to learn more about periodontal splinting.

Gum disease can lead to many serious effects, including gum and bone loss. The jaw bone and gum tissues support the teeth and keep them firmly in place. 

When the gum becomes loose, you can lose some teeth. Tooth loss comes a number of negative effects, such as difficulty in speaking and chewing, altered appearance, and more serious issues like jaw bone loss. 

What is Periodontal Splinting?

This is a dental procedure in which mobile teeth are carefully splinted together to reduce or eliminate teeth movement and prevent the teeth from coming off. During the procedure, a splint is used to join several teeth, providing additional support as well as distributing the bite force evenly.

Treatment Options for Loose Teeth

There are various options you can go for to prevent teeth mobility or loosening. The options include:

Do Nothing

When your teeth become loose due to periodontal disease, and you do nothing, the disease is likely to progress and lead to more loss of teeth. When teeth become loose, they tend to drift whenever you are chewing or speaking. This leads to a change in the bite and creates spaces between the teeth and their necks.

We do not recommend this option.

Stabilize the Gum Disease

You can also see a periodontist to stabilize the gum disease. At Portal Cypress Dentistry, our team can make your teeth firmer with various dental procedures. After a procedure, it will be up to you to decide whether you want the teeth to be splinted.

Teeth Alignment

When the periodontal disease has stabilized, you can undergo orthodontic treatment to align the teeth. However, in most cases, this option is not possible if the teeth have been compromised.

Teeth Extraction

You can also have the teeth extracted and replaced with a bridge. Our periodontist is likely to recommend this option as long as the teeth that support the bridge have adequate bone support and sufficient structure.

Dental Implants

Another option is to get the teeth extracted and implants installed. At Portal Cypress Dentistry, we offer dental implants installation services. The procedure involves surgery. Our team will first carry out a thorough oral exam on you as not all patients are suitable for implants.

Before installing the implants, we’ll stabilize the periodontal condition to reduce the chances of failure. 

Get Dentures Installed

You can also get the teeth extracted and dentures installed. A denture is a removable appliance used to replace missing teeth and soft tissue. Generally, patients should not sleep with dentures.

How is Teeth Splinting Done?

Teeth splinting can be done in various ways. However, the treatment is quite intricate, and the compromised condition of the teeth can lead to failure.

The most common treatment options are intra-coronal splinting, extra-coronal splinting, and permanent splinting. Depending on how loose your teeth are, we may also recommend other options such as occlusal splints and occlusal adjustment.

Occlusal Splints or Guards

If parafunctional grinding or clenching habits are evident, we may recommend a removable bite guard or occlusal splint to protect the teeth. The guard will prevent further deterioration of the teeth crown from the biting force.

Generally, parafunctional habits tend to be caused by stress or tension. You can wear the guards when you are stressed, tense, or when you are likely to start engaging in the habit.

Intra-coronal Splints

With this treatment, a channel is milled on top of the affected teeth, and a custom-formed metal splint is inserted into the slot. The splint is later bonded in place.

Intra-coronal splints are barely visible and, therefore, are more aesthetically pleasing.

Extra-coronal Splints

With this procedure, a ribbon or wire with a fiber reinforcer is used to stabilize the loose teeth by fastening them together. The procedure may also involve the use of a composite resin to join the affected teeth together without a wire.

Permanent Splinting

Also known as fixed splinting, this procedure permanently makes loose teeth to be immobile by crowning them. Our dental team will fabricate a splint, in which the crowns will be fused or joined together.

Occlusal (Bite) Adjustment

Our dental team can also adjust the bite or occlusions (how the teeth meet together) through minor reshaping. The quick procedure will ensure that the biting surfaces of the teeth receive less force during grinding. The procedures require special knowledge and skills on how bites work.

Orthodontic Treatment

At Portal Cypress Dentistry, we can also reduce the loosening of the teeth through orthodontic treatment. The treatment involves repositioning the teeth so that any pressure applied to them is more even and appropriate. 

However, orthodontic treatment for mobile teeth can be complicated. This is, especially, if you have severe gum disease that has to be contained before the treatment begins.

When done correctly, orthodontic treatment can help in the regeneration of lost bone to improve the attachment of the teeth to the jaw bone.

Benefits of Periodontal Splinting

There are many practical and aesthetic benefits of periodontal splinting. To start off, adding splints to loose teeth helps to prevent or delay tooth loss indefinitely. At the same time, splints help to remove unnecessary stress surrounding the teeth.

Stabilizing the teeth allows your bite mechanism to work more efficiently by evenly spreading the bite pressure. The splints also prevent more complications, such as bite collapse, from developing.

Before deciding the best treatment options to pursue loose teeth, consider the long-term outlook. Temporary splinting will allow you to buy some time. However, the teeth may have to be removed and replaced if your periodontal structure has suffered severe damages.

Portal Cypress Dentistry offers a variety of dental services that can help to avoid periodontal complications in the future. Get in touch with us to find out how to improve your oral health.