When you lose a tooth, it can be alarming. After all, your teeth are an important part of your body. They are essential for chewing food and speaking clearly — not to mention how they can dramatically impact your appearance and confidence. Fortunately, there are many ways to preserve and maintain your smile even when you lose a tooth. Options such as dental implants and dentures can provide you with a replacement so you don’t have to worry about how that missing tooth affects your appearance or how it impacts the way you speak and eat food. But what about the physical effects? How does tooth loss affect your health? Read on to learn more about the advantages of keeping all of your teeth versus losing some of them.
Dental Implants: Tooth Loss
A dental implant is typically made of titanium and is surgically placed into your jawbone. Over time, the bone will grow around the implant and create a connection between the two. This allows you to permanently replace a tooth that is missing due to trauma, disease, or other reasons. Keep in mind that dental implants can take anywhere from three months to one year to heal, during which time you will have a “gap” in your smile.
After the healing process, you can have a crown or bridge placed on top of the implant. Dental implants are one of the most effective ways to replace a missing tooth. They look and function like your natural teeth, and you can eat food just as you normally would. In fact, dental implants are so durable that you can even chew on tough foods such as steak and corn on the cob.
What’s the real cause of tooth loss?
Poor dental hygiene is not the root cause of tooth loss. In most cases, tooth loss is caused by gum disease and plaque buildup. To understand what happens in the gum and tooth tissue when poor dental hygiene occurs, we need to take a look at how the gum tissue works. The gum tissue is supposed to be sticky and hold onto the teeth. That sticky gum tissue acts like a barrier to trap harmful bacteria and toxins, preventing them from entering the bloodstream.
If that sticky gum tissue ever becomes weak or loose, the harmful bacteria can enter the bloodstream and cause a condition known as gingivitis. Gingivitis is a gum disease that can lead to other serious conditions like tooth loss, heart disease, and stroke.
Why is it important to keep your Teeth healthy:
- Your health – You may not realize that losing teeth can impact your health. Unfortunately, losing teeth prematurely can increase your risk of other serious health issues such as heart disease and diabetes.
- Appearance – Losing teeth early can also harm your appearance. Even if you replace the missing teeth with dental implants, you will likely experience changes in the way your face looks.
- Comfort – Losing teeth prematurely can also make eating and speaking uncomfortable. This can lead to social isolation, which in turn can negatively impact your mental health.
- Finances – Finally, losing teeth prematurely can impact your finances. If you are not able to eat properly, you might have to spend a significant amount of money on healthy food or specialty products. – And More!
Hearing and Speech Issues:
When you lose your teeth, you can experience changes in the way you hear and speak. You may find that your voice sounds different, and you may experience a decline in your hearing ability. This is because your tongue, palate, and lips are responsible for forming sounds and words. In other words, they provide the mechanism for speaking.
Fortunately, you can minimize these issues by replacing the missing teeth. But if you don’t do anything about it, the sounds you produce while speaking will likely sound different — almost like a mumble. In fact, it is possible for people to think that you are speech impaired when that is not the case.
Digestive Issues due to tooth loss
Teeth are responsible for helping to break down food. Without them, you may struggle to properly digest your meals. This may cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and vomiting. It may also lead to discomfort, indigestion, and constipation. If you lose a few teeth, it is unlikely that you will experience major digestive issues. However, if you lose a significant number of teeth, you may have trouble properly digesting food. To minimize the risk of digestive issues, you can replace lost teeth with dental implants.
Musculoskeletal Issues with tooth loss
If you lose a tooth, your facial muscles are forced to work harder to help you chew your food. As a result, you may feel achy, stiff, and uncomfortable. If you do not replace the missing teeth, you may experience permanent muscle and joint issues. If you lose a few teeth, you may not experience any musculoskeletal issues. However, if you lose a significant number of teeth, you may experience permanent issues such as arthritis and joint pain. You can minimize the risk of these issues by replacing the missing teeth as soon as possible.
Psychological Effects:
If you lose a tooth, it can be devastating. You may feel embarrassed, self-conscious, and even depressed. When you lose a tooth, you may begin to feel like you are not the same person you were before. You may even avoid eating and socializing because you don’t feel comfortable. Fortunately, the sooner you replace the missing tooth, the sooner you can regain your confidence. In fact, even a partial denture can make a huge difference in your outlook and well-being.
Bottom line
Keeping all of your teeth is important for your health and overall well-being. If you lose a tooth, make sure to have it replaced as soon as possible. You don’t want to risk developing other serious health issues! If you are missing a tooth, it is important to have it replaced as soon as possible. You don’t want to risk developing other serious health issues!
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