Once you’re past the age of believing in the tooth fairy, losing a tooth is no fun. However, if you’re an adult who is missing teeth, the chances are good that you’ve had tooth problems for some time. With that in mind, it can be easy to just accept the tooth loss as an inevitability, rather than looking for tooth replacement options. If you’re missing one or more teeth in the back of your mouth, you may even think that it’s not a big deal since they aren’t visible when you smile. But ignoring missing teeth can make your dental problems worse. These are some important reasons you shouldn’t ignore missing teeth.
Teeth are very instrumental in a lot of body functions. Besides chewing and digestion, teeth are involved in speech sounds, help protect the gums, they are important for facial aesthetics and help to evenly distribute pressure in the mouth when chewing. Missing even one tooth consequently means that the functionality of the entire set of teeth could be compromised. This is why our team at Cathedral Dental advise patients to immediately seek help and replace missing teeth. Here are just a few of the issues you might have to deal with if you ignore missing teeth.
-Missing teeth can lead to the development of TMJ joint problems. These are caused by the imbalance in the jaws which are as a result of missing teeth hence uneven distribution of pressure when chewing.
-Missing teeth can make it hard to chew food, which can affect your diet. In fact, since people with dental problems tend to gravitate towards soft and processed food, ignoring those missing teeth could even impact your weight, which could eventually affect your overall health.
-Perfectly straight teeth can become crooked due to a missing tooth. Since every tooth has its own space, a missing tooth leaves space that forces the remaining teeth to try and fill the gap. The surrounding teeth will begin to move towards the gap. Crooked teeth can also create areas that a toothbrush or floss cannot reach. Food particles will become plaque and spread in these areas, developing into an infection.
-You can also have bone loss (known as bone resorption) when you loose a tooth and the natural roots are not longer embedded in the jawbone. The space left by a missing tooth can take a toll on the teeth either side and with time you risk losing more teeth.
If you would like to know more about replacing missing teeth and dental implants, book in for a consultation with our Implant surgeon Ricardo to find out all of your options.
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