There are many reasons why you want to avoid tooth loss. It makes chewing food harder, for one thing. It’s not as aesthetically appealing, for another. But perhaps most importantly, it can lead to a whole host of other health issues, as sort of a domino effect. Here are a few of the issues that can be caused by missing teeth and what you can do to prevent them:
Health Issues
There are many causes of tooth loss, but they have one thing in common: They lead to more health issues. For starters, tooth loss begets more tooth loss if there’s no replacement. Your jawbone is strengthened by chewing. When you lose a tooth, that part of the jawbone is no longer stimulated, leading to deterioration. This can lead to bone loss in your jaw and can weaken surrounding teeth, causing you to potentially lose them as well.
Not replacing a tooth that you’ve lost can also lead to gum disease and that risk increases the longer you wait. Gum disease is serious enough on its own, causing a whole host of oral issues, but what it can lead to is even worse. It’s been proven to lead to heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cancer.
How to Treat Tooth Loss
The good news is there are multiple proven ways to treat tooth loss, and you should seek out those options as soon as possible. A dental bridge is a replacement tooth that is held in place by crowns that are fitted on the adjacent teeth that is used to replace one or more teeth in a given area. A common option for more severe tooth loss is either partial or full dentures, which replace missing teeth and are removable.
Another option is dental implants, which come in a variety of forms. If you’re only missing one tooth, you will get a single implant. An implant-supported bridge is placed directly in the jawbone rather than shaving down the surrounding teeth for crowns, allowing you to replace multiple teeth at once. Implant-supported dentures, meanwhile, are on upgrade on traditional dentures as they’re inserted directed into your jawbone. Finally, the All-on-4 treatment concept is an innovative technique that allows for the replacement of an entire arch placed on four implants, eliminating the need for bone grafts. With All-on-4, patients can get a new set of teeth in as little as one day!
If you need a tooth replaced, don’t wait. The Center for Implant Dentistry in Bakersfield, CA can help you decide what treatment option is best for you. Give us a call at 661-663-9600 to schedule a FREE consultation today!