Missing teeth should not be viewed as an inevitable fact of aging. Instead, seniors should fight back against tooth loss with proper oral hygiene, frequent dental checkups and cleanings, as well as restorative dentistry. Dental implants can play a significant role in maintaining your surrounding teeth after suffering from tooth loss. Implants prevent tooth loss by strengthening the area that lost a tooth. The opposite is true with removable dentures.
Tooth replacement is important for tooth loss
Did you know that a missing tooth creates a domino effect of dental health issues? Tooth loss often leads to other dental health problems and even more missing teeth without professional dental care. Not replacing missing teeth will begin deteriorating your oral health by contributing to teeth drifting. While this may not sound like a significant dental health problem, it can have a big impact on the rest of the smile.
Strength of implant supports bite
One of the main causes of tooth loss is gum disease. Side effects from medications that seniors take can cause dental problems such as gum disease. Gum disease causes the loss of supporting bone around teeth. When supporting bone is lost, the remaining teeth become loose and can drift. Placing an implant will sturdy up that corner of the mouth. It will take the majority of the bite load and protect the natural teeth from being overloaded. Implant placement will lessen long term bone loss.
How Tooth Loss Can Cause More Missing Teeth
Teeth drifting causes malocclusion, or misaligned bite. This dental health condition is contributes to teeth grinding, TMJ disorder, and cosmetic dental issues. When your teeth are in the incorrect position, they are performing the incorrect role in your mouth. This means that teeth will incur more damage and excessive tooth wear by attempting to accommodate for the missing tooth. As a result, your teeth are much more vulnerable to tooth decay or tooth loss.
Is periodontal disease still a problem with dental implants?
Unlike tooth decay, gum disease doesn’t attack your tooth structure. Instead, it erodes the periodontal tissues and jaw bone structure that support your teeth and your dental implant restoration. Even after replacing your lost tooth, the development of gum disease could threaten the success of the implant.
Implants Are Placeholders
First and foremost, you have probably heard that missing teeth can have a negative impact on your smile’s appearance and alignment. Whether you are missing one tooth or many, the open spaces become areas that your remaining teeth will attempt to occupy. A single open space may cause your natural remaining teeth to shift and migrate toward the space. This is highly problematic because your smile will end up losing uniformity, you may require braces to restore alignment, and you may suffer from an unbalanced bite that causes discomfort and subsequent oral health concerns. By replacing teeth with dental implants, you fill the opening, so your smile’s alignment remains intact.
Dental Implants Protect Your Jaw Health and prevent tooth loss
First, it’s important to understand how the roots of each tooth keep your jaw healthy. When you bite down, your tooth roots stimulate your jawbone. A reaction occurs that sends a signal to keep nutrients flowing steadily to your jaw tissue, so it can remain strong and healthy as a way to continue supporting its teeth. When you lose one set of roots – or many – your jawbone stops receiving stimulation. This may result in a jawbone that does not receive nutrients and that then deteriorates. Dental implants replace your roots, restore the stimulation process, and protect your jaw health.
How Dental Implants Can Help Prevent Further Tooth Loss
Dental implants prevent this excessive tooth wear by avoiding malocclusion. The dental implant will hold your remaining teeth in place while restoring your tooth function. As a result, your remaining teeth will be less susceptible to excessive tooth wear and misaligned bite. In addition, dental implants reclaim your smile strength and image.
Prevent tooth loss with dental implant procedures
We offer dental implant crowns to help patients restore their self confidence and their smiles. For more information about how Dr. Fondriest can help you if you lose a tooth with restorative dentistry, contact Lake Forest Dental Arts at 847-234-0517.
Dr. Fondriest is a Nationally recognized and highly sought after cosmetic dentist serving clients from throughout the United States