The consequences of gaps in your smile are not to be taken for granted.
Being a common oral condition, missing tooth/teeth normally affects one’s appearance, social interactions, and proper eating function; moreover, the condition may also lead to more serious oral health issues.
Considering you are among the 35 million people who are affected with missing teeth, then you’re probably familiar with the most common consequences. You may feel self-conscious while interacting with others or simply avoid talking and smiling just to hide your dental issue. Some might even pick up an unpleasant habit of covering their mouth with their hands to conceal their embarrassing condition. It is not uncommon for these ugly gaps in your smile to negatively affect your confidence, yet there are more serious consequences that you need to be aware of.
For starters, if you have lost enough or most of your teeth, chewing food may become more difficult, particularly in vitamin-rich foods, such as crunchy fresh fruits & vegetables. This is one of the primary reasons that poor dental care most often leads to a deficiency in nutritional values.
Bone loss, which is sometimes referred to as a “hidden consequence,” is another serious issue that results from missing teeth. This issue may not be actually seen or felt right away, but you need to be aware that bone actually requires constant stimulation to maintain its adequate quality and quantity. Therefore, when a tooth is lost, the bone in your jaw that used to surround and support it melts away.
As bone loss condition progresses, it would begin to affect your facial structure. If you have lost your teeth during your early adulthood, by the time your 45 years old you may already have sunken cheeks. By the age of 60, your face would appear collapse and aged because your lips and cheeks would’ve severely lost support at this time. If left untreated, this process will persist, and you’ll eventually be at risk of losing most of the structural support of your facial muscles.
At Sea Smile Dental Center, whether you missing a single tooth, a number of teeth, or even all of them, we have various options. We can use dental implants to restore your smile and halt bone loss at the same time.
Dental implants can provide the same look and function of your natural teeth, and more importantly, their functionality. They have the unique ability to integrated with your living bone, therefore providing stimulation to your jawbone and preventing further loss of bone structure.
With a success rate at approximately 95%, dental implants are the most viable long-term solution in replacing your missing teeth and quickly eliminate the consequences associated such a condition. You’ll gain your health & confidence back, eat what you like, and most of all – you can SMILE all you want!