To some people, tooth loss seems like a cosmetic issue. The biggest impact it has on their lives might be their smile’s appearance, at least at first, which is why that’s often the biggest motivating reason to seek treatment to replace their lost teeth. However, tooth loss is a big deal for nearly every aspect of your oral health, not just your smile’s appearance, and if you hesitate to address it, you might experience a number of negative impacts.
A number of daily activities
Your teeth are important to your entire systemic health as well as your oral health. They’re not just responsible for biting and chewing, but also for enunciating your words properly and supporting a number of surrounding oral and facial structures. Your teeth also require consistent care to stay healthy, and when you experience tooth loss, all of these things can become increasingly more difficult. For example, keeping up with good dental hygiene can be more challenging when you have to work your toothbrush and floss around the gap or gaps in your smile. This difficulty can translate into less efficient hygiene, and as a result, an increased risk of more oral health problems in the near future.
Your ability to bite and chew
Your biting and chewing ability is the most frequent of your teeth’s many responsibilities, and tooth loss’ impact on that ability is especially significant. When you can’t comfortably eat your favorite foods, you’re less likely to eat enough to fulfill your body’s mineral and nutrient requirements every day. This can impact everything from your immune system to the health and function of various organs throughout your body. Over time, continuously inadequate nutrition can become a serious threat to your systemic health in several different ways.
Your overall oral health
Tooth loss is itself a serious oral health problem due to the many different effects it can have on your oral structures. However, the longer you allow the space in your smile to remain, the greater the risks to your overall oral health will be. In addition to trouble with good hygiene, tooth loss also impacts the health and integrity of your remaining teeth, causing them to shift or change positions due to the bite imbalance. This can impact your ability to bite and chew even further, as well as make your remaining teeth more susceptible to damage and, eventually, loss.
Restore your smile with dental implants
There many different things that grow increasingly worse after tooth loss, but with a dental implant restoration, you can avoid or improve many of them. To learn more, or to schedule a consultation, call Santa Rosa Oral Surgery in Santa Rosa, CA, today at 707-545-4625.
