How Tooth Loss Affects Your Health

Not all patients may realize how important your oral health is to your overall health. The mouth is considered “the gateway to the body”, so any issues that the mouth experiences can have adverse effects on the rest of your body.

Imagine what issues you could experience when you start to lose your teeth.

Tooth loss is not something to take lightly. Without treatment, it can become difficult to eat, speak, or feel confident in your appearance. For these reasons and more, we recommend dental implants as a preferred treatment for tooth loss.

What Causes Tooth Loss?

There are both habitual and accidental ways to lose your teeth. Most lose their teeth as a result of bad habits: neglecting to brush, an unhealthy diet, smoking or alcohol abuse, or refusing to see the dentist. Other times it’s accidental: old age, a consequence of disease, or from physical impact trauma to the face.

The most common causes of tooth loss are age and disease; both of which can be monitored by a dentist. Each time you visit the dentist, the dentist and hygienists will keep track of any changes in your teeth and oral health, no matter how minute it may seem. That way, any treatments needed can be administered early, to prevent more serious consequences. But when patients avoid the dentist, their teeth can unknowingly deteriorate. Over time, it becomes more difficult or expensive to treat these issues.

By addressing tooth loss as soon as it occurs, patients can increase their chances for keeping the rest of their smile stable.  Investing in dental implants can help patients avoid losing other teeth, reduce exposure to disease, or limit changes in facial structure.

Increased Risks With Tooth Loss

Every part of your body works together like a well-maintained machine. As such, even minor changes in your oral health can subtly influence other parts of your body.

• Periodontal Disease: This is a more serious form of gum disease, caused by bacteria that fester in the gums and between teeth. It consists of red, bleeding gums, often sensitive to touch or temperature. When you lose a tooth, it leaves space for this disease to take hold. In addition, it can also spread along the gums and affect the other teeth.
• Cardiovascular Disease: Researchers have recognized a potential link between gum disease bacteria and its effects on the heart and arteries. Those who lost teeth due to gum disease were also found to be at higher risk for heart attack and strokes.
• Pregnancy Risks: While research is currently ongoing, there has been a long-held belief that periodontal disease bacteria could lead to premature birth in pregnant women.  Hormonal changes during pregnancy may lead to a condition known as pregnancy gingivitis.  Since a majority of tooth loss is caused by periodontal disease, losing teeth is considered a high risk for pregnant patients.
• Chronic Kidney Disease: While the link is currently being researched, there is a belief that tooth loss and periodontal disease have also been the culprit behind kidney disease.

Timeline of Progressive Tooth Loss

Losing One Tooth:

• Statistically, the back molars are the most common teeth that patients lose first.
• Lack of stimulation in the jawbone causes early deterioration.
•  25% decrease in structure one year after tooth loss, including a reduction in height.
• Without treatment, the surrounding teeth may start to loosen as jawbone density decreases.

Losing Multiple Teeth:

• Jawbone continues to lose height and density.
• Gum tissue starts to recede.
• Chewing and speaking abilities become impaired.
• Loss of facial support becomes evident in the skin; cheeks start to hollow, lips to sag.

Losing All Your Teeth:

•  The distance between the chin and nose reduces as the jawbone deteriorates.
• Chin rotates upward, becomes more prominent.
• Facial structure partially collapses, resulting in hollowed cheeks.
• Bite collapse occurs if the back teeth are missing, leading to even more difficulty with chewing and biting.

The Psychological Effect of Missing Teeth

In 2008, the Academy of General Dentistry published a survey  conducted with 1,100 of their members about common problems associated with tooth loss in their patients. Unsurprisingly, there was a high response for the psychological effects of this condition:

• 86.35% cited social embarrassment
• 66.26% revealed emotional pain
• 68.7% claimed to feel nervous or self-conscious

Dentists have long known the emotional side effects of tooth loss, and also cited it as a partial reason why patients didn’t seek treatment. Many tooth loss patients either didn’t want or didn’t know about the tooth replacement treatments available to them.It’s why we insist on securing your smile dental implants, especially after losing one or two teeth.

A dental implant can prevent your neighboring teeth from shifting, and reduce your risk of jawbone deterioration or infection. But that’s not all: we’ve also seen firsthand the emotional impact of having a complete smile again. We want all our patients to look and feel their best, and strive to make sure that our dental implants are high-quality and long-lasting.

Why Choose Dental Implants?

Dental implants are one of the best tried-and-true methods of smile restoration. They are subtle, natural-feeling, and best of all can help your oral health to recover from the trauma of tooth loss. Since dental implants are directly placed into the jawbone, they undergo a unique fusion process called osseointegration. As a result, dental implants are permanently placed in the mouth, adding support and functionality to your jawbone and smile. No other non-implant treatment can achieve kind of permanence.

We also ensure that your dental implant looks real. There’s nothing more conscientious than realizing that everyone can tell you have fake teeth. But Dr. Brace and our team work hard to design your implant to be subtle and beautiful, blending into your smile like a natural.

Learn More About Health Risks of Tooth Loss

We strongly believe that an informed patient is a more satisfied patient. If you have any questions about dental implants or the long-term effects of tooth loss, please contact us to set up a $1 consultation. We want to restore your smile again, and it can be achieved through dental implant treatment.