Why You Should Always Replace Missing Teeth

Teeth are designed to last a lifetime. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. Unless you are a young child losing a baby tooth or a teenager saying goodbye to wisdom teeth, you may lose your natural teeth due to trauma, disease or other unwelcome events. While losing a tooth (or multiple teeth) can be devastating, you can feel better knowing there are life-like options in restorative dentistry. Dental implants, bridges, partials and dentures can replicate your natural tooth or teeth in feel, form and function. But it’s up to you to initiate teeth replacement with your dentist.

Whether it is cost or the assumption that a missing tooth doesn’t matter, far too many patients avoid teeth replacement. This can be a serious mistake on many levels. A gapped smile is more than a threat to your appearance and self-confidence. In fact, missing teeth can affect your oral health and overall well-being.

What Happens When a Tooth Goes Missing

Whether the tooth was knocked out or extracted, there is an unfortunate chain of events that is triggered when an adult tooth is removed from your smile. Regardless of where the missing tooth is in your mouth, your surrounding teeth will slowly migrate towards the open space over time. This can cause your teeth to look crooked as well as disrupt your overall bite alignment. In turn, you may find yourself more susceptible to decay due to cleaning challenges as well as TMJ issues from a bad bite.

In addition to misalignment, your missing teeth can lead to setbacks in your speech and eating. Each tooth (except for wisdom teeth) play a specific role in the function of your smile. If you do not replace missing teeth, you may find it difficult to pronounce certain syllables and words as well as suffer limitations in what you eat. Relying on a soft, high-carb diet can contribute to obesity, diabetes and other health conditions in the long run.

Finally, a failure to replace missing teeth can lead to premature facial aging. Sound far-fetched? It is not when you consider that your underlying jawbone will begin to atrophy or shrink when there is not enough stimulation from tooth roots. Eventually, bone loss in the jaw is evident with a sunken or hallowed lower face. Dental implants are the only restorative solution that helps patients avoid premature facial aging from bone loss.

Take Action in Teeth Replacement

Now that you understand the importance of replacing a missing tooth, it is time to take action with a skilled restorative dentist. You should know that time is of the essence when replacing a tooth, as the series of unfortunate events in shifting teeth and bone loss can happen quicker than you may think. To avoid the need for bone grafting and orthodontics before your tooth replacement, go ahead and schedule that restorative dentistry consultation sooner rather than later.  At Dental Care Acworth, we proudly offer a full menu of options in single tooth replacement as well as full arch teeth replacement. Call now to learn about custom bridges, dental implants and dentures to rebuild your beautiful smile.