The Consequences of Tooth Loss
|October 29, 2015
The Consequences of Tooth loss can be devastating. Consequences of Tooth loss can mar your smile and ultimately your appearance, especially if you lose a tooth at or near the front of your mouth.
However, tooth loss can lead to even more problems. Here are three startling consequences of tooth loss your La Jolla dentist can prevent with dental implants.
Consequences of Tooth Loss: Premature Aging and Facial Collapse
Tooth loss can make you look older. When you lose a tooth and don’t replace it with a dental implant, you risk the chance of jawbone loss. Normally, your tooth root stimulates the continued growth and health of your jawbone. Dental implants mirror your natural tooth root and keep your jawbone healthy.
Without the stimulation, your jawbone dissolves and you lose the support to your cheeks and jawline. Your face begins to look shriveled and your cheeks look hollow. You can appear 10 or more years older than your real age.
Consequences of Tooth Loss: Difficulty Speaking and Eating
Chances are you eat without actually thinking about how you chew your food. Unfortunately, lose even one tooth and you compromise your ability to chew properly.
In addition to the impact on your ability to eat, biting and chewing stimulates your tooth roots and jawbone. As your San Diego dentist noted previously, this stimulation is vital to the health of your mouth.
Another potential problem that might occur if you lose teeth is difficulty speaking. The type of speech problems and extent depends on how many and which teeth you lose. For instance, your front teeth are much more impactful to speech than other teeth. Without them, your tongue can’t press against them and help to form the letters ‘s’ and ‘z’.
Consequences of Tooth Loss: Abnormal Wear and Tear on Other Teeth
The normal adult mouth contains 32 teeth, including wisdom teeth. Losing a tooth may cause the remaining teeth to shift. Those on either side of the gap may move to fill the opening resulting in crooked teeth. The remaining teeth above or below the opening may “reach out” in an effort to find their upper or lower mate.
Overall, tooth loss may lead to serious bite problems such as overbite, under bite, crooked teeth, and a weakened structure of your mouth.
Regardless of how you lost your teeth, you owe it to yourself to speak with your nearby La Jolla dentist about dental implants. Dental implants look, feel, and act more like your natural teeth than any other dental remedy and they offer the most benefit for your jawbone and facial structure.
Don’t let tooth loss keep you from regaining your beautiful smile. Talk to your San Diego dentist about All-on-4 dental implants today.