Replacing Missing Teeth Is as Much About Oral Health as Your Appearance

Missing permanent teeth impacts more than your appearance. Left unfilled, the gap or gaps can negatively impact your oral health in various ways.

Fortunately, modern dentistry offers excellent solutions. Board Certified Dentist Thomas Eaton, DDS, in Ione, California, is an expert in replacing missing teeth with dental implants, dentures, bridges, and more. 

In this blog, he explains the importance of replacing missing teeth.

No backup plan

When you lost your baby teeth as a child, there was nothing to worry about, as your adult teeth were already forming in their place. In fact, your baby teeth were simply placeholders that accomplished the tasks of teaching you how to chew and speak as their more permanent counterparts began to take shape inside your jawbones.

As your primary teeth fell out, your secondary teeth erupted in their place in order to provide you with a lifetime of service. At least that was the plan.

Yet, some 178 million adults in the U.S. have lost at least one tooth, while as many as 40 million have lost all their teeth.

The domino effect

Tooth loss can have a cascading effect on the rest of your teeth and your overall dental health.

First off, each of your teeth maintains a specific position in your mouth and, together, they create your bite and hold each other in place. When you lose a tooth, your surrounding teeth may start to shift without the support of that tooth. If the neighboring teeth shift, the others next to them may shift as well, causing movement all along the row, disrupting your bite, and jeopardizing their stability.

This shift in your bite can lead to uneven wear and even temporomandibular joint disorder, which is a painful condition that affects the hinges in your jaw on either side of your mouth.

A crumbling foundation

You don’t just lose the part that’s visible. The root of your tooth comes out along with it, which leaves a hole in your jawbone. 

Now consider that your bones are living tissue that requires stimulation to regenerate cells and maintain their strength. When that area of your jawbone is no longer in use, this stimulation shuts down, and your bone begins to deteriorate. The net effect is that your jawbone loses bone mass, which can have a devastating impact on your overall dental health and significantly exacerbate your cosmetic concerns, as your mouth develops a sunken-in appearance.

The replacements

Thankfully, we have several options for replacing missing teeth, including a standout choice: dental implants. A dental implant mimics a new root with a metal implant to prevent bone loss in your jaw. Once your implant is fully integrated into your bone, we provide you with a crown.

Other options for missing teeth include dentures and bridges, which are effective solutions to ward against shifting teeth, but they don’t have the same advantage of stabilizing your jawbone as dental implants do.

The bottom line is that every situation is different. Dr. Eaton works with you to devise a plan that preserves your dental health for years to come.

To learn more about replacing missing teeth, schedule an evaluation, call Dr. Eaton, or request an appointment online today.