The Effects of Tooth Loss
Aurora, CO
 A shocking number of people lose many of their teeth each year. While losing many teeth may be quite pronounced, losing one tooth also has its adverse effect on our oral and general health. The effects of losing teeth affects people in various age groups differently, but most times our natural oral functions and abilities take the hardest hits. Modern tooth replacement options can help curb the effects of tooth loss. Our professionals at Summerbrook Dental Group have outlined the following effects tooth loss has on most patients.
Teeth Misalignment
Our teeth are a set that rely on each other for support and stability. This may not be obvious, but losing as little as a single tooth opens up a space in our dental alignment. Because each tooth needs the surrounding teeth to retain its position, a vacant space means that surrounding teeth may begin to shift and lose their position. This affects the alignment, which results in issues with our bite. Bite is how our teeth fit together and over each other. Misplaced alignment means a disrupted bite, leading to dental issues.
Strained Eating and Speech Production
One immediate effect of missing one or more teeth is how it affects our food intake. The vacant spaces cause reduced chewing and biting efficiency and also disturbs our normal eating practice. Difficulty in chewing food also leads to loss of interest in meals, resulting in inadequate nutrition. Moreover, our teeth play an important role in how our words are formed. When some teeth are missing in important spaces, pronunciation becomes a difficult endeavor. Patients may have to repeat themselves often for other people to clearly understand their messages.
Jawbone Atrophy
While we use our teeth to chew food for easy digestion, chewing also plays a strong role in keeping our jawbone healthy. Jawbone atrophy which means jawbone loss, results from loss of teeth. Our jawbones keep their density and vigor by receiving stimulation from our teeth. When we chew, the stimulation from those movements travel through the tooth root to the jawbone. Losing a tooth means losing stimulation for that jawbone area. Without stimulation, the jawbone in that area begins to recede. It slowly loses its density and shape in that area, shrinking and degenerating. The gum and facial muscles in that area also suffer from this development, giving off a sunken appearance to the face.
Loss Of Self Confidence
Following the loss of a tooth, many patients become very conscious of the appearance of their smile. Patients who lose many teeth without replacing them become very careful of how they open their mouth, fearing that the loss of teeth may portray negatively on their appearance. Laughing freely is no longer a luxury as the missing teeth take a toll on their self-confidence.
Avoiding The Effects Of Tooth Loss
While it is nearly impossible that any human may never lose at least one tooth, advancements in dental technologies have brought lasting solutions to minimize the effects of losing teeth. From dental implants to dental bridges and dentures, you have many options to retain your smile and oral abilities. To know which one you may be a candidate for, speak to our experts at Summerbrook Dental Group today, by calling us at 720-882-9988 to learn more.
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