Do you experience problems or pain associated with missing teeth?
When teeth are missing in your smile, it can cause more than just embarrassment and an urge to cover your mouth when you smile. Left untreated, tooth loss can lead to serious complications over time and severely impact your day-to-day life.
Many people experience tooth sensitivity immediately after losing a tooth. It’s important to seek treatment right away, even in cases where pain is not an issue. Here are just a few of the consequences of missing teeth and tooth loss:
Chewing Difficulty
You might not realize it, but your teeth play an essential role in how you eat every meal. Eating is second nature to most of us. So it’s easy to ignore how we use our front teeth to bite into food and our back teeth to chew, which is why tooth loss can cause immediate issues with eating. No matter where the missing tooth is, it can impact your ability to eat usually in a big way.
Trouble Speaking
Talking is another instinctive habit that relies on teeth. Believe it or not, you need your teeth to form the sounds you make when you say words. As slowly as you can, say the sentence “The silk was out of style,” and pay attention to how many times your lips or tongue contact your teeth. When your teeth are missing, the way you speak can end up sounding lisped or slurred.
Problems Caused by Missing Teeth
If you have one missing tooth, you’re far more likely to lose more. There are a few reasons why just one missing tooth can cause so much damage, including:
- Loss of jawbone tissue. When you lose a tooth, chances are you also lose a little jawbone tissue around the lost tooth. This can weaken your mouth’s overall structure, making it more likely for your other teeth to loosen or fall out.
- Source conditions. Poor dental hygiene and excessive sugar intake are just a few examples of conditions that might have led to the first missing tooth. Unless steps are taken to improve your daily oral care, these conditions will continue to claim your teeth.
Ways to Fix Missing Teeth
When it comes to fixing or preventing consequences from a loss in teeth, you have 3 main options to choose from:
- Removable Dentures
- Bridges
- Dental Implants (The Best Option)
To avoid the effects of tooth loss, talk to your dentist about the restorative dental options available to you for treatment. Read more about dental implants and how we can customize a plan tailored specifically to you.
Dentistry at East Piedmont provides tooth loss patients with functional smiles using implant supported dentures. Dr. Patel can restore single and multiple teeth with beautiful, custom-fitted dentures.
If you’d like to learn more about our restorative dentistry services, please contact us or call (770) 321-5558 to set up your complimentary consultation.
