The Danger of Waiting on Choosing a Tooth Replacement Option or Dental Implant

When you lose a tooth, you may view it as a purely cosmetic issue, but the reality is that when missing teeth are not replaced, you could find yourself up against one of many detrimental dental health issues. People will often put off or completely neglect to get a tooth replacement if the missing tooth is not in the visible “smile zone,” but this is highly advised against by dentists such as Dr. Jennifer Nation and the team at Brookside Smiles in Redlands, California. Let us now look at some consequences associated with missing teeth and the available replacement options, such as teeth implants.

Shifting Teeth

When teeth are lost, even if it is just a single tooth, the ramifications on your dental health can be very negative. Let us look at a situation where a patient loses a single tooth, resulting in a gap. While this may not seem like a big deal at first, what can (and often does) end up happening is that the teeth on both sides of the gap will begin to drift inward, filling this gap. This creates uneven spacing, causing the rest of the teeth to shift. Over time you are looking at a serious misalignment issue. Filling the gap immediately with a dental implant will prevent this shifting and any future misalignment issues that may result.

Jaw Deterioration

You may not realize how important the root of each tooth is. It plays a vital role in the health of your jawbone. The root of any given tooth provides stimulation essential to keeping the jawbone healthy. When a tooth, and thus its root, is lost, this stimulation is gone as well. Over time this leads to jawbone deterioration and eventually becoming reabsorbed by the body. Because a dental implant is physically inserted into the jawbone, it can mimic the function of a natural tooth root and provide the necessary stimulation to keep the jawbone healthy and intact.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Jennifer Nation at Brookside Smiles, please call (909) 300-9044 today.