Tooth Loss and Your Health in Cortland OH
Tooth Loss and Your Health
Tooth loss is associated with many adverse effects. If you’re missing teeth, you probably know too well the physical and emotional consequences you face when you have gaps in your smile. But there is hope!
How Tooth Loss Affects Your Wellbeing
Dental implants offer a solution to these issues that is both aesthetically pleasing and promotes oral health. Learn more about how tooth loss affects our health and well being and how dental implants can help.
Loss of Functionality
Speaking and eating are both affected by missing teeth. In fact, gaps in your smile can make it difficult to speak, making you slur your words. While certain foods can become difficult to chew, limiting your food choices can ultimately lead to poor nutrition.
Dental implants are designed to take the place of the natural tooth root, creating a strong foundation for a porcelain crown, bridge, or full-arch denture, and restoring full functionality so you can speak and chew with confidence again.
Increased Risk of Oral Infection
Food can get trapped in the gap where a tooth once stood, making it difficult to properly remove bacteria, plaque, and debris when you clean your teeth. This leads to an increased risk of oral infections, causing tooth decay, gum disease, and eventually additional tooth loss.
However, replacing missing teeth with dental implants protects the remaining teeth and helps reduce the risk of oral infection. Implants can be cleaned just like your natural teeth with regular brushing and flossing, making it easier to remove disease-causing bacteria and debris.
Weakening of the Jawbone
Your jawbone depends on the roots of your teeth to provide stimulation to stay strong and healthy. When a tooth is missing, bone in the area begins to deteriorate, weakening the jawbone and increasing the risk of additional dental problems and tooth loss.
Because dental implants are attached directly to the jawbone, they provide the stimulation it needs to remain strong and healthy. Dental implants are the only tooth replacement option that protects the jaw from further bone loss.
Premature Wrinkling
As your jawbone shrinks from missing teeth–especially if you are missing many or all of your natural teeth–the skin on your face begins to loosen and wrinkle, making you look older than you are. By maintaining bone density and the strength of your jaw, implants help prevent premature wrinkling.
Reduced Self-confidence
If you have missing teeth you may feel conscious about smiling or speaking which can have a major impact on your relationships and social life. This can ultimately change how you feel about yourself and degrade your quality of life.
Everyone deserves to feel confident and able to communicate with others. Dental implants can do this for you and so much more. Implants are permanent, natural-looking, and won’t slip out of place like other types of tooth replacement options, restoring your confidence.
Anxiety and Unhappiness
Did you know that just the act of smiling can make us feel happier? But when we refrain from smiling because we don’t want others to see that we’re missing teeth, we don’t benefit from this boost in positive energy. It’s no wonder that people who have experienced tooth loss report a greater level of anxiety and depression.
Restoring your smile with long-lasting, natural-looking dental implants can give you back the confidence to smile and, in turn, make you feel happier!
Schedule Your Appointment at The Center for Progressive Dentistry
If you’re interested in replacing your missing teeth and want to take advantage of all the benefits dental implants have to offer, schedule a consultation with Dr. Bedich today! We’re located in Cortland, just 15 minutes north of Warren, Ohio.
