Not only can a missing tooth or teeth affect your smile and your confidence, leaving it untreated can seriously affect your health and your options to have it fixed at a later date, often leading to more costly and significant procedures to remedy. Read on to find out why replacing your missing tooth or teeth is the smart choice.
When a person has all of their teeth in place, the force of chewing travels down the tooth into the jawbone. This pressure stimulates cells called osteoblasts. Osteoblasts stimulate bone growth. When a person has a missing tooth or teeth, the empty spaces in the jawbone do not receive the same force in these areas and it affects these areas poorly. Other cells called osteoclasts, which deteriorate bone, become more active than the osteoblasts which encourage bone growth. The osteoclast activity causes areas of your jaw to deteriorate, leading to a weaker jaw that can affect your options for your tooth replacement, your overall oral health, the integrity of your jaw and consequently, your other teeth.
Typically the sooner you can replace your missing tooth or teeth the better outcome for your dental health. Your jawbone has to be healthy, have high bone density and be a certain width to support the least invasive and most permanent form of dental implants. This will restore function and stop jawbone deterioration and movement of your other teeth due to the gap. Leaving a gap from a missing tooth or teeth will lead to bad dental outcomes not only for that missing area but also the surrounding areas in your mouth and your mouth as a whole. Not replacing your missing tooth or teeth will cause your other teeth to shift, leads to bone loss and jaw bone deterioration, makes you more susceptible for more tooth loss, an increased risk of fracture, gum and jawbone recession, gum wounds, increased risk of periodontal disease, increased risk of infection, speech and eating challenges, and facial changes that can make you appear older.
When you have a missing tooth or teeth it allows for shifting and loosening of surrounding teeth and greatly increases your risk for losing more teeth (By a whopping 30% more than if you get your gap closed by inserting a dental implant!) It also raises you risk of bacterial growth in the area and greatly increases your risk of oral infection which can even spread to other parts of your body and endanger your health.
Furthermore, letting a missing tooth or teeth wait increases the likelihood that a more difficult or invasive procedure is needed to protect your oral health later on. If your jawbone is not strong enough to support dental implants, bone augmentation may be an option that your dentist recommends to strengthen your jaw to improve the likelihood of dental implant success. But, it is always best to get an evaluation as soon as possible for the best success of a dental implant and to evaluate the best option for your oral health before damage is done from the gap. If you are missing a tooth or teeth it is important to see your dentist right away. At Clove Dental we have Emergency Dentists and oral surgeons that can take care of your needs. Give us a call today at 805-983-7674 or schedule an appointment online at clovedds.com.