It’s not uncommon for anyone who just experienced tooth loss to delay replacement because the tooth in question is not highly visible, for instance if it is back among the molars. Yet there can be serious consequences to postponing replacement.
The gap created by tooth loss will prompt the adjacent teeth to move and try and fill the gap. This can change the alignment of your entire bite, resulting in chewing and speaking problems. If severe enough, a misaligned bite can then lead to extreme jaw pain.
Jawbone erosion is another possible consequence of tooth loss. In normal conditions, the biting and chewing pressure produced by a tooth stimulates the underlying jawbone to continue regenerating. The absence of pressure when a tooth is missing will consequently lead to loss of significant bone mass. Jawbone atrophy can cause the lower third of the face to collapse inward. If you’ve ever seen an elderly person with full dentures, this type of jawbone loss can be evident.
As if that weren’t dire enough, jawbone loss can also complicate future efforts to replace your missing teeth with implants. Implants require a healthy amount of jawbone mass for placement. Jawbone erosion could mean that you would need to go through a bone graft to rebuild your jawbone before you could begin an implant procedure.
Dental implants for your tooth loss replacement needs
At Hampton Dental, we use dental implants to replace teeth every day with nearly a 100 percent success rate. We feel they are far and away the best method for replacing one or multiple missing teeth. Call us today at 414-377-5711 and let’s discuss replacing those missing teeth!
