Missing Teeth Means Missing Out on So Much More

Do you skip lunches with friends or avoid social occasions because you are worried about how you look? When visiting with others, do you stay silent or cover your mouth when speaking, hoping others won’t notice the gap in your teeth?

Two of the primary jobs of your teeth are speaking and eating. Missing even one tooth can affect these everyday activities. It can create a lisp when you say certain sounds. A gap may be noticeable when you speak or laugh, causing you to be self-conscience.

When you have trouble speaking or eating, it can affect your social life and your confidence.

A missing tooth causes your jaw and remaining teeth to adjust how you chew food. This action can change how you speak and eat, impacting how your jaw functions, leading to pain, bone deterioration, gum disease, and other issues. In addition to that, chewing food with teeth that weren’t intended to do so can weaken your remaining teeth. It also makes it more difficult to clean the adjacent teeth, often leading to gum disease.

When you find it difficult to chew certain foods, finding food you enjoy that you can still eat without pain or discomfort becomes more difficult. In many cases, a missing tooth increases tooth sensitivity, affecting the beverages you drink and the ability to enjoy both hot and cold foods.

At the onset, it may appear that a missing tooth only affects the gap in your mouth and your smile. The truth is that any teeth that do not function correctly put the rest of your teeth at risk. Each tooth is held in place by a root. When one tooth is missing, your remaining teeth can shift out of position, loosening the other roots and causing more teeth to fall out.

The roots of your teeth also support your jawbone. When in place, the roots allow the jawbone to grow, strengthen, and regenerate naturally. When you have missing teeth, your jaw could begin to deteriorate because it does not have the needed support from the root system. Over time you could lose more teeth, and it could ultimately change the shape of your face.

While modern dentistry offers several solutions to address missing teeth, the most advanced, permanent solution to missing teeth are dental implants.  Implants offer permanent cosmetic result that replaces missing teeth with a truly natural looking tooth.  The process of placing dental implants , which involves securing a titanium post into the jawbone, stops bone loss and returns function, allowing you to eat, speak and chew foods normally again.  Properly caring for dental implants will result in your new teeth lasting decades.

To learn more about the benefits of dental implants , read the blog Everything You Need to Know About Dental Implants.

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