Why Are My Teeth Moving All Of A Sudden?!
どうして突然歯が動く？
The other day, I had a new patient in my office. After looking at the forms she filled out, I noticed that her complaint was a problem with shifting teeth all of a sudden. She was relatively young so I was curious. I had my assistant take a full set of X-rays. “Why so many X-rays? My previous dentists never took so many X-rays. They only took x-rays when there was a problem or when something hurt.”
“Well, let’s see what these X-rays tell me.”
We took a look at the X-rays together. I really believe in gathering information, figuring out what the problem is, then teaching and explaining what I find to my patients. It’s good to know what’s happening in your mouth. An educated patient will ask good questions and try their best to help fix the problem together.
The X-rays turned out to be the best clue to what was going on! Teeth do not shift their position all of a sudden. Something was wrong with the bone underneath.
As gum disease gets worse, the bone surrounding the teeth may dissolve away. Once the bone loss is noticed, there is not much to be done to re-grow the bone. The teeth, with not much foundation, will shift. There maybe areas of new spaces opening up, there may be teeth that look longer.
By not taking X-rays on a regular basis, it was impossible to see what was going on with the bone. By the time the patient notices shifting teeth, its too late.
Your dentist may recommend xrays as they are needed. It will vary from patient to patient. Don’t wait until something hurts or something starts shifting.（次回は10月第２週号掲載）
〈Keyword〉X-rays Ｘ線 gum disease 歯周病
〈プロフィル〉Dr. Clara Lee ニューヨーク大学歯学部卒業。ニューヨーク大学ブルックデール病院でチーフレジデンス修了。13年以上に及ぶ臨床経験は一般歯科、コスメティック、インプラントを含む。インビザライン認定医。Waterside Dental Care院長として古山医師と共に、多くの日本人患者さんを治療。Dentistryをこよなく愛している。記事提供：Waterside dental Care（Tel：212-683-6260）
