Dental Arthritis: understanding and treating desmodontite

Updated: November 3, 2022
dental arthritis
Dental arthritis is extremely painful.

Arthritis isn't just for your joints. It can also affect your teeth.

The condition is not serious if you treat it in time. In any case, since it can be extremely painful, you are naturally prompted to make an emergency dental appointment.

Dental arthritis manifests itself as stabbing pain at the slightest touch and, if it persists, permanently. It is easily detected, thanks to the so-called “long tooth” syndrome that makes you suffer when you chew.

Fortunately, once the cause of the inflammation has been identified, the dentist will quickly get rid of it. Here's everything you need to know about dental arthritis.

What is dental arthritis?

Do not confuse osteoarthritis with arthritis

Let's start by putting aside any confusion between arthritis and osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease caused by age, trauma or a dysfunction of the body.

It is a particular form of arthritis. Arthritis is not due to an alteration of the joint, but to a reaction to an aggression. It is an inflammation and, in the case of dental arthritis, it does not come from the joints, but from the ligaments.

Dental arthritis

Dental arthritis is the inflammation of the ligament that holds the root of the tooth in its socket. This ligamentary tissue, called desmodontite

Which medication to treat dental arthritis?

To relieve the pain, you can take a strong anti-inflammatory drug like ibuprofen.

Which toothpaste for dental arthritis?

Use parodontax daily fluoride toothpaste to remove plaque bacteria buildup along the gum line (the junction between the gum and the tooth), helping to maintain a good seal between your gums and teeth.

How to treat dental arthritis naturally?

Several essential oils can help you treat dental arthritis: grapefruit seed oil (antibacterial, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory and pH balancing) and tea tree oil (antibacterial, particularly suitable for oral problems).

When this tissue is inflamed, rather than dental arthritis, the more appropriate term desmodontite should be used. Indeed, the affection affects the ligament, whereas arthritis, in the etymological sense, concerns the joint.

Inflammation is often chronic, with acute dental pain sometimes appearing for no reason.

Causes of dental arthritis

There are many causes of connective tissue inflammation leading to dental arthritis. Ligament tissues represent an infinite number of nerve endings that are sensitive. Their inflammation makes them swell and causes piercing pain.

Infectious causes of dental arthritis

Dental arthritis is sometimes of infectious origin. In this case, you must question your oral hygiene. For example, sometimes food gets stuck between the teeth.

Even if you brush your teeth after every meal, debris can get stuck, especially if you have very tight teeth.

The toothbrush is not enough in this case, you need at least the dental jet and, more often, the dental floss.

If you don't dislodge this food debris, it puts pressure on the two teeth it affects (and sometimes this pressure can even be heard in other neighboring teeth).

If the tooth rests too much on a part of its socket, it can trigger the fatal inflammation of the ligaments, due to the pressure exerted on the root of the tooth, which leads to dental arthritis.

The traumatic origin of dental arthritis

The origin of dental arthritis can also be traumatic. You may have received a severe blow to the jaw in an accident or fall (or a fight!). Accumulation of microtrauma is also a likely source.

If you practice a combat sport such as boxing, even with the best protection, the repeated blows put pressure on the teeth and eventually irritate the ligaments.

It is also possible that a faulty or ill-fitting denture exerts unbalanced pressures that cause the connective tissues to react.

With the evolution of the mouth with age, a prosthesis sometimes becomes obsolete.

The consequences of dental surgery

dental arthritis - surgery
Dental arthritis can occur after dental surgery.

Dental arthritis can also occur after extensive dental work. If you have had major surgery, the tissue may be irritated during the procedure and trigger inflammation.

Your body may also react to the products used. Anesthetics for starters, but also filling paste or any other chemical compounds that can cause a release.

Your dental arthritis is in this case well localized. Your dentist will prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs that will quickly soothe the dental pain, as well as the arthritis.

Whatever the cause of dental arthritis, it must be treated as soon as possible. Usually, the dental pain is so intense that patients quickly make an appointment.

Be aware that if you wait too long, the consequences can be irreversible.

With the progressive destruction of the ligamentary tissues, the tooth will gradually loosen and the fatal outcome is simply the tooth falling out, because it is no longer held naturally in its cavity.

What are the symptoms of dental arthritis?

Dental arthritis is easy to diagnose because its symptoms are quite characteristic. If you experience any of the sensations listed below, make an urgent appointment to see your dentist, as the pain will not naturally subside with time, but will only get worse.

Continuous pain

The pain of dental arthritis is continuous, although its intensity may vary.

dental arthritis pain
The main symptom of dental arthritis is intense and continuous pain.

If you touch it, eat or clench your teeth, the pain intensifies. If your dental arthritis is already well advanced, even the pressure of your lips when you smile can be painful.

On the other hand, it usually resists the painkillers you get at the pharmacy. Finally, lying down at night intensifies it. Dental arthritis is synonymous with chronic insomnia.

Redness of the gums

When your ligaments swell, the pressure increases on your gums, which turn red.

The “long tooth” syndrome

The “long tooth” or “elastic tooth” syndrome is the most characteristic of dental arthritis. The nerve sensations of your inflamed ligaments are skewed and you no longer feel that your tooth is held in its socket, which eventually becomes the reality if you don't treat it.

Evolution as a function of temperature

Arthritis becomes more painful in response to heat and eases with cold. The dentist normally detects dental arthritis quickly and confirms his diagnosis with an X-ray that proves the inflammation.

How to treat dental arthritis

At the dentist

A visit to the dentist is mandatory to treat your dental arthritis. The practitioner begins by removing the disturbing element: decay if it is an infection, adjustment or change of an ill-fitting or obsolete prosthesis, repair of a bite problem, recommendation of a mouthpiece if you are prone to bruxism at night (teeth grinding)…

dentist arthritis
If you have dental arthritis, you should see your dentist.

If necessary, the dentist can design a staking system to hold the tooth in place while the inflammation subsides.

He will also advise you, if your behaviors are inappropriate: use of an unsuitable toothbrush, especially with hard bristles, too much pressure when brushing, abusive use of toothpicks…

He or she may recommend the use of interdental brushes, dental flossing and flossing.

Homeopathic treatment by the dentist

There is a homeopathic treatment that can be injected by your dentist. Homeopathy is a controversial subject, as some claim that its only action is the placebo effect, while others remain convinced of its effectiveness.

Talk to your practitioner to find out what his or her position is on this subject, but be aware that there is a solution which is the dilution of Complex C 374 from Weleda.

Composed of Argentum Nitricum, Belladona and Silicea, it can be prescribed with the formula Complex C 366 whose antibacterial action helps healing.

These treatments are only available by prescription. They are injected para-apically, i.e. at the end of the root to reach the ligaments of the alveolus.

Natural methods

To speed up the healing of your dental arthritis, you can use natural recipes that will soothe your dental pain. They do not replace your dentist's prescription if he or she has prescribed medication.

clove of girogle
Clove has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.

The clove

Clove is often used for dental care. Its composition includes a high proportion of eugenol whose anti-inflammatory properties have long been proven.

The β-caryophyllene of the clove is analgesic. With this combination, your painful tissues are both healed and anesthetized.

You can easily find cloves in the market that you can chew or let infuse in your mouth. The taste is very particular and quite strong. If you don't like it, turn to the essential oil of clove.

The essential oil of the clove tree retains only the active ingredients of the clove, which makes it an extremely concentrated solution, to be used with care.

It retains the anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of clove and helps eradicate the bacteria responsible for mouth infections, streptococcus mutans.

Just one drop on your fingertip, two or three times a day, no more. With your finger, massage the gum around the painful tooth. You will have a warm-up feeling which is normal. The taste of clove remains, but you won't have it in your mouth as long as when you chew a clove.

Essential oils should not be used for children or pregnant women.

Homeopathy

Go to the pharmacy to find the homeopathic treatment that will complement your dentist's treatment. There is the solution of granules with Ammonium Carbonicum 5 CH, or Arnica Montana 5CH. Take two tablets every two hours and let them melt under your tongue.

Dental Arthritis: FAQ

Which medication to treat dental arthritis?

To relieve the pain, you can take a strong anti-inflammatory drug like ibuprofen.

Which toothpaste for dental arthritis?

Use parodontax daily fluoride toothpaste to remove plaque bacteria buildup along the gum line (the junction between the gum and the tooth), helping to maintain a good seal between your gums and teeth.

How to treat dental arthritis naturally?

Several essential oils can help you treat dental arthritis: grapefruit seed oil (antibacterial, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory and pH balancing) and tea tree oil (antibacterial, particularly suitable for oral problems).


Medical Sources

French university hospital college of maxillofacial surgery and stomatology. Course. Pulpopathies/Desmodontitis [en ligne]. <http://campus.cerimes.fr/chirurgie-maxillo-faciale-et-stomatologie/enseignement/stomatologie9/site/html/1_13_131_1.html> Accessed May 24, 2022

Faculty of Pharmacy of Lorraine. Sophie Barbelet. Thesis. The clove tree: History, description and uses of the plant and its essential oil [en ligne]. <http://docnum.univ-lorraine.fr/public/BUPHA_T_2015_BARBELET_SOPHIE.pdf> Accessed May 24, 2022