Topic: 5 Reasons Why You Should Replace Missing Teeth
Carrie is our Clinical Operations Manager and a Registered Nurse here at Nebraska Oral & Facial Surgery. We sat down with Carrie and asked her the top questions patients ask her. Today's topic, 5 reasons why you should replace missing teeth!
1. Prevent other teeth from moving
Missing teeth and gaps can lead to mobile teeth. Your teeth will move over time to fill in the open spaces and can lead to shifting and crowding in other areas of your smile. This can also lead to uneven teeth, areas that are more difficult to clean and an adjusted bite. As teeth shift there is the potential for harm to otherwise healthy teeth due to the pressure normal eating. When you replace the missing tooth / teeth you are maintaining the area that the missing tooth once filled therefore preventing crowding or gaps.
2. Prevent bone loss
Healthy teeth come into contact with each other hundreds of times a day as you bite down. This mild friction is transferred to the bone which surrounds each tooth. This stimulates bone growth and keeps your bones healthy and strong. When time passes without stimulation, the bone becomes weaker. You may experience a 25% bone loss within the first year after a tooth is missing. This bone loss can continue to the gum tissue and the jaw bone. The replacement helps to maintain the health of the bone and continues to stimulate the bone keeping it healthy and strong.
3. Prevent changes to your appearance
Missing teeth leads to bone loss. As the jawbone begins to deteriorate and shrink it results in changes to the overall appearance of your face. Our facial structure, lips, cheeks, etc, rely on our teeth and bone structure to provide the foundation for our facial appearance. The tissues, skin and lips may begin to sag which results in an older appearance. Replacing missing teeth helps to maintain the foundation of your smile. This helps prevent premature aging and preserves your youthful appearance!
4. Prevent speech changes
When you are missing a tooth, it could make it difficult to annunciate words and making you sound like you have a lisp or impediment.
5. Freedom to eat
Chewing on harder foods, can cause pain if you have an empty tooth socket. You may be unable to eat harder foods and must be limited to a softer diet until the tooth is replaced.
Getting a dental implant will allow you to feel like your normal self. You won’t have to worry about how you look, how you sound, or what you can or can’t eat. You can do all these things with confidence! The implant looks and feels like a normal tooth. No one will know that you have an implant unless you tell them.
Schedule your consultation now to begin saving your smile with Nebraska Oral and Facial Surgery!
Nebraska Oral & Facial Surgery is the premier oral and maxillofacial surgery center in Nebraska with offices in Lincoln & Columbus. David Rallis, DDS, MD; David Cleverly, DDS; Kevin Rieck, DDS, MD; and Matthew Davis, DDS, MD have been trained in the full scope of oral and maxillofacial surgery. Their expertise ranges from wisdom teeth removal to dental implant placement to facial reconstruction
