Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Missing Teeth
April 29, 2021
When you lose a tooth, or if you suffer from a more severe case of tooth loss, then you may need a custom prosthetic. Otherwise, poor oral health could mean serious trouble for your oral health. In today’s blog, your Kansas City, MO, dentist talks about how we place missing teeth with a lifelike replacement option.
The Causes of Tooth Loss
Why do we lose our teeth in adulthood anyway? The factors could vary, but are often related to how well we care for our smile. For example, untreated tooth decay could become an infection or abscess, one that cause the tooth to become lost, or one that cause a tooth to require extraction to prevent the spread of infection to other parts of the smile. An injury could be responsible too. The most common cause is periodontitis, the advanced stage of gum disease. At this stage, the tissues connecting your teeth and gums have become severed, leading to lose and missing teeth.
Dangers for Your Smile
When you lose even one tooth, the gap could mean the onset of misalignment as surrounding teeth begin to drift from position. Misalignment alone could boost the risk of cavities and gum disease! Tooth loss also means an imbalanced bite and major strain on your smile, causing issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism (chronic teeth grinding). However, the most dangerous factor is the breakdown of the jaw bone. The body will stop sending doses of calcium and phosphates to the area of the jawbone around a missing tooth. The bone tissue loses mass and density, which means further tooth loss and a prematurely aged appearance!
Replacement Options
When we place a bridge, we address between one and three teeth in a row with a sturdy and lifelike prosthetic. For more severe cases of tooth loss, we could also provide removable full and partial dentures. To prevent the breakdown of the jawbone tissues and to preserve your smile, we could use dental implants. Inserted into the jawbone they stimulate the growth of tissues to prevent a breakdown in the smile, so your new implant can last for decades to come and possibly even a lifetime, while any remaining natural teeth are more likely to stay in place!
If you have any questions about replacing missing teeth, or if you would like to see which option is best for you, then please contact our team today. With a thorough consultation using advanced digital technology, our team can help create a lifelike solution!
Do You Have Questions About Dental Prosthetics?
Our team wants to help fill the gaps in your smile with lifelike and long-lasting prosthetics. To learn more about replacing missing teeth, then schedule a consultation by calling Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry of Kansas City, MO, today at 816-427-4018.