Always Replace Missing Teeth
It might feel embarrassing to lose a permanent tooth, but beyond the shame, there are genuine, far-reaching consequences to tooth loss. Left untreated, a missing tooth can have serious effects down the line.
Keep reading to learn more!
How Missing Teeth Affect Your Health
Beyond the obvious aesthetic changes to your smile, losing a tooth actually affects your oral health. Your teeth work together on a lot of things, including chewing your food and keeping each other in alignment. Losing a tooth is essentially losing a teammate, and now the remaining teeth have to pick up the slack.
The gap left behind is now extra room for your teeth to drift out of alignment, and your mouth will naturally start favoring one side while chewing. The uneven chewing pattern puts uneven strain on teeth, and the drifting of your teeth can exacerbate this wear. Unevenly worn, misaligned teeth are more prone to becoming loose or damaged, and combined with the increased risk of disease on the newly exposed gums, your likelihood of losing more teeth shoots up dramatically.
How Missing Teeth Change Your Self-Image
While we wanted to focus on the health effects first, there are some important aesthetic changes that you should be aware of. People put a lot of stock into looks and first impressions, and so it can be hard to maintain a positive body image if others are judging you based on your missing teeth.
Front teeth play an important role in pronouncing sounds like f-, v-, and th-. Changes to your front teeth, whether they be misaligned or lost, will affect your speech. If you’ve ever had braces or worn a retainer, you know just how much small differences can affect the way your voice sounds.
Your jaw depends a lot on your teeth to provide it with support and stimulation that maintain its structure. Losing teeth means weakening that support, leading to jaw shrinkage and changes to your facial shape. Many patients report a weak appearing chin and saggier cheeks.
We Can Help!
Many patients feel ashamed and ugly after living with missing teeth, but they don’t have to. Restorative dentistry offers many options, including implants, bridges, and partial dentures, which can restore your smile and improve your oral health.
There’s no reason to suffer with a missing tooth when you have so many great tooth replacement options. To start your restorative dental journey, contact our office located in Houston, TX and speak with our staff about scheduling a consultation.
