Do you ever feel like your teeth move a tiny bit after flossing? Am I going mad

[dentalmisery]

Having a very, very stressful time with health problems at the minute. Icing on cake was problem with my dental crown needing to be stuck back on, I posted about this. I have severe anxiety from medical situations now and dental phobic anyway and don't know if anxiety is just latching onto stuff but -

Today (after being at dentist yesterday) ALL my teeth kind of feel like they are moving ever so slightly? Wtf?

I have been flossing more vigorously over the last few days due to the crown problem and feels like it's to do with that?

Last full and thorough check up in October my dentist said my teeth were very firmly stuck in and not to worry about them falling out suddenly, and my gums are in fairly good shape apart from the small area that got irritated by my crown. It has bled a few drops in the last week when flossing.

I'm so upset and anxious and feel very on edge in case I wake up and my gums have suddenly gone to shit or something?

Does this ever happen to anyone, where you feel like your teeth are moving almost imperceptibly?

Could literally cry at the thought of having to go back to dentist on Monday I am so exhausted I just need stuff to not go wrong with my body for a little while so I can rest and recover, I just need to have NO medical appointments for a while.

I can relate - but only from an anxiety perspective, which should technically reassure you.

In the past 2 months on the run up to Christmas especially, I had a lot of issues with my health anxiety playing havoc, and the biggest thing that seemed to come back around was that my teeth were going to fall out, to the point that I was genuinely convincing myself that they were loose (could even feel them moving when I touched them, or thought I could).

I even got to the point that every time I fell asleep, I dreamed that my teeth fell out, and I'd wake up in a panic and be checking them. I started feeling like they'd even moved in my mouth and it was affecting my speech and that must've meant they were loose.

... all anxiety, OP. Horrendous anxiety at that, but it was all debilitating anxiety and high stress.

I clench my teeth while I sleep sometimes and when I wake up, some of them feel loose, then they firm up again during the morning. It's a common side effect for teeth grinders. My dentist says my teeth are fine with no lasting damage.
My point is that even if they do feel loose (they probably aren't according to your dentist) it doesn't mean they are going to stay loose and fall out.

This is very much your anxiety OP. Nothing major has gone wrong with your body. You can rest now.

Natural healthy teeth do have a teeny tiny bit of give. I never noticed this until I got an implant, which doesn’t budge at all. Now I notice when flossing or if I have a bit of food stuck between teeth - they are firmly wedged together, then you force the floss between, and when you pull it out the teeth move back together.

Not exactly the same scenario but I did invisalign and often felt like teeth were wobbly and about to fall out (they weren't!) as they were being slowly moved. Also lots of flossing etc. My orthodontist was never concerned.

My understanding is teeth do keep moving - hence why people need to use retainers to keep them straight after treatment or they drift back.

If you've been flossing more (and you said vigorously) maybe you are actively noticing things. Obviously see a dentist if you are concerned, but I'd probably give it a bit longer to see if the feeling goes away.

Completely relate to the phobia and the movement

It's normal
Try to relax

Try not to worry OP. I used to be a dental nurse and teeth are held in place by lots of tiny periodontal ligaments, imagine them as tiny shock absorbers which allow impact from eating and things like flossing so it's quite normal to sometimes feel slight movement. Your dentist will have checked for mobility of teeth and would have told you if there were any concerns x

Teeth have a teensy bit of normal wobble. Plus, if you've been flossing more vigorously lately, your gums will feel slightly different as they improve and heal compared to how they felt before — blood flow, inflammation, irritation, sensitivity, movement, all slightly different from what they were used to feeling, giving you different sensations to the usual.

Other way round for me. I thought mine were rock solid. Then the dentist told me my bottom two, right at the front, were wobbly! 😱

Relax it’s all fine. But try not to floss too vigorously. That is not necessary and not helpful. You will NOT have created a problem from doing this over the last few days. But try to stop now.

Yep, mine get a weird clicky feeling when I push my tongue against them after flossing. They're all firmly in there after many years of doing this!

I get you, OP. My teeth are quite close together so flossing is uncomfortable for me anyway.

My dentist tells me off by saying if I won’t floss then I need to come for a hygiene clean every 6 months.

Every time I floss my teeth feel like this and it’s horrible! Your teeth are not going to fall out!!

Mine do this a bit whether I floss or not.

I sometimes suck all my incisors inwards then push them outwards with my tongue, just to feel the click. Yes, I know this is a revolting thing to type out loud.

Edit: I visit the dentist at the recommended intervals and have never had any worrisome wobbliness noted by a dentist. So it can't be too concerning. Just gross

My (very healthy, zero cavities) teeth always feel like they're moving a tiny bit after flossing and after going to the dentist. And even though I have very healthy gums they almost always bleed a bit while flossing. Totally normal, though a weird feeling!!

I have this issue ....I've got trauma to an area around a tooth and the gum just won't heal and gets inflamed easily to the point it feels like a tooth could fall out.
However....the dentist pointed it a few things. If you have missing teeth, them teeth over tike arnt supported and do kove ever so slightly and with age, that's why teeth don't look in the same position as when younger. Secondly...it sounds like you're over flossing. Flossing too hard can damage your gums. I've glossed too much and brushed too hard that I actually ruined my enamel....get a water floss thing and try that, don't use alcohol mouthwash, brush teeth gently even after lunch.....but let's face it. Worst case scenario if your tooth did come out there's lots of options and depending on where your tooth is you could just go without it.

Hi OP, I can totally relate to how you are feeling. I've also had other health stuff going on and dental phobia. I had 2 root canals done last summer which still don't feel right. I feel like mine are loose too! But not sure if it's my overactive imagination!

@Raxacoricofallapatorian That's exactly what I do!