Few things can inspire more confidence, or insecurity, than a person’s smile. After all, it is one of the first things people notice about you, and one of the last they’ll forget. A healthy and beautiful smile shows the world that you take great care of yourself, and want to put your best foot forward. While, sadly, a noticeably troubled smile can often send the opposite message. So what is a person to do when he or she struggles with tooth loss? Gum disease is the leading cause of adult tooth loss across the world. But trauma, and other dental health issues can also cause tooth loss or the need for extraction. Fortunately, modern prostheses provide a number of effective ways to complete and restore the smile after tooth loss, so you can get back to smiling confidently again!
Why Is It So Important to Replace a Missing Tooth
There are a number of potential problems brought about by tooth loss, the most obvious of which may be the esthetic concerns. It can be embarrassing, as an adult, to smile when there are noticeably missing teeth, particularly in the front of the mouth. But other issues brought about by tooth loss can be even more serious. For instance, remaining teeth may try to shift to fill the created gap, causing alignment issues that may make chewing comfortably even more difficult. Misaligned teeth can also cause nighttime teeth grinding, known as bruxism, which can wear down the teeth’s enamel.
Over time, missing teeth can also lead to shrinking of the jaw. This is because it’s the teeth’s roots that provide the jaw with nutrients to keep it strong and healthy. When these roots die or are removed, the jaw will begin to shrink, often leading to ill-fitting prosthetics after several years, or worse, the possible loss of additional teeth because of deteriorating overall health.