How Missing Teeth Can Hurt Your Oral Health, Wellness and Self-Confidence

Most people have no hesitation in replacing missing front teeth because it affects their appearance. However, delaying treatment for missing teeth in any part of the mouth can lead to serious oral and other health problems.

Here are some specific reasons why it’s important to replace missing teeth without delay:

Gum Disease and Tooth Decay

When a tooth is missing, there’s the risk of other teeth shifting to fill in the space. Misaligned teeth can cause a change in bite, possible gum disease as well as tooth decay.

Moreover, you will find it difficult to reach all surfaces when you brush and floss teeth brought close together to fill up space left by a missing tooth. This results in the formation of plaque which increases the probability of gum disease or tooth decay, causing more teeth to fall out.

The more teeth you have missing, the more complicated the problem can get.

Bone Loss

One of the major consequences of having missing teeth is bone loss in the jaw. Healthy teeth are locked into to the jawbone and need to be constantly used… by chewing and biting food…to keep bones healthy.

If missing teeth are not replaced, your jawbone will have a tendency to deteriorate over time.

Temporomandibular Joints (TMJ Disorder)

Temporomandibular joints (TMJ) connect your jaw to the skull and help you chew food. Missing teeth causes immense strain on these joints, resulting in headaches, pain and discomfort.

Typical symptoms of TMJ disorder are jaw pain, popping or clicking jaw, earache, popping sound in ears, headaches, headaches and locking of your jaw joint.

If you have a missing tooth and are experiencing these symptoms, consult your dentist immediately to diagnose if you are suffering from TMJ disorder and seek the most appropriate treatment.

Facial Deterioration

Losing a tooth, even if it’s in the back of your mouth, reduces the jaw bone which makes your face look old and wrinkly. Your cheeks become hollow and start to sag because there’s no tooth to stabilise them.

Replacing a missing tooth will prevent neighbouring teeth from moving in to fill the gap left by the missing tooth, so that your face does not dramatically change.

Restricts Your Diet and Affects Health

Missing teeth make it difficult to chew food, triggering a natural tendency to avoid discomfort by eating processed and soft food in order to

As a result, healthy food which requires chewing, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and lean meats are not consumed in quantities required to promote good health.

When you don’t replace missing teeth, you could miss out on critical nutrients required for your body to function at its peak, which can lead to poor health.

Affects Self Confidence

Sharing meals with friends, colleagues and family members is a daily occurrence for most people. However, missing teeth make you feel self-conscious and uncomfortable, so you begin to avoid social interactions and start to become isolated.

A missing tooth can also affect speech patterns, leading to further embarrassment and a loss in confidence.

When you have a missing tooth replaced, it can take a little time to get accustomed to a foreign object in your mouth. However, this is a temporary phase and is a lot better than covering your mouth every time you smile.

Dental Implants – An Ideal Tooth Replacement Solution

A popular solution, dental implants are a practical and long-term method to easily replace one or more missing teeth. Installing implants is a two-phase process.

The first phase involves placing a titanium post in your jawbone. After a few months have passed to ensure the post isn’t rejected by your body. The second phase involves placing a crown on the titanium post.

One of the main benefits of a dental implant is the prevention of bone loss. A dental implant mimics a natural tooth to the extent that every time you bite or chew, you send a signal to the body that the area around the tooth is alive. Your body continues to rebuild bone tissue around your tooth and jawbone strength is maintained.

A dental implant fills the gap left by your missing tooth, thereby preventing neighbouring teeth from moving, which preserves the integrity of all other teeth.

Within six months of receiving a dental implant, bone will grow around the titanium post and will integrate it fully into your jawbone. This makes the replacement tooth a lot sturdy and with proper care can last a lifetime.

The primary goal behind replacing missing teeth is to restore normalcy in the way your teeth function, which a dental implant accomplishes perfectly.

The way in which a dental implant stimulates bone growth to integrate into your jawline makes dental implants an ideal option for replacing missing teeth. You will hardly be able to make out the difference when chewing or speaking because of the seamless way in which the implant fits with your remaining teeth.

From an aesthetic point of view, a dental implant is hard to match because of the custom made crown placed over the top which perfectly matches the shape and colour of your natural teeth.

Just because you cannot see a missing tooth, does not mean it will not lead to any of these problems. It’s your back teeth which do most of the hard work of chewing food.

They are as important as the teeth which make up your smile. This is why you should not put off replacing a missing tooth or missing teeth.

Dental technology has advanced to a level where you have a choice of treatment options to suit your budget. If you have a missing tooth, replacing it is vital to maintain your oral health.

At FY Smile, we can help you decide which solution is best to replace a missing tooth or missing teeth. You can CLICK HERE to make an appointment or call us on 02 8488 9618 if you have any further queries.