What Happens If You’re Missing a Tooth and Don’t Replace It?

If you lost a tooth, it’s not just a charming smile that you lose. It can have a significant impact on your oral health. A missing tooth can also lead to other dental complications if you don’t reach out to a denturist or dentist soon. Let’s look at some of the issues you could face.

• Appearance: Appearance of the face largely depends on your jaw. Uneven shifting of teeth can make the appearance of your jaw crooked, and may also cause bite problems and joint pain.

• Decay: Once your teeth become unevenly placed, it becomes challenging to maintain oral hygiene and may lead to the decay of healthy teeth, bad breath, gum infections, and plaque.

• Other problems: In severe cases of teeth movement, it can cause permanent damage to your jaw, and can lead to TMJ disorders. This may result in severe pain in your face as well as headaches.

So what can be done to set things right?

Here are some of the options that dentists generally suggest to replace missing teeth.

1. Dental Implants:

   The best option when there is no continuous gap in your jawline. Dentists use a metal frame made of titanium and mount a tooth onto this frame through a simple surgical procedure. This replacement resembles natural teeth and will remain so for a very long time if taken proper care of.

   Advantage: The nearby teeth are not affected or disturbed by this procedure.

   Disadvantage: The healing process can take several months, and proper care of the implant must be maintained. Implants are typically the most expensive option.

2. Fixed Dental Bridge:

   People who have two or more teeth missing in the same area of their mouth often choose this option. A set of artificial teeth is attached to the adjacent teeth using dental cement. This is comparatively a faster procedure. Also, they are less expensive than dental implants.

   Advantages: A bridge blends with natural teeth and does not require a surgical procedure.

   Disadvantages: Oral hygiene can get very tricky if you get a fixed dental bridge, bacteria can easily find its way under the bridge. Placing a dental bridge typically requires grinding of healthy adjacent teeth. It may also damage the teeth that are nearby if not correctly placed by putting too much pressure on your natural teeth.

3. Removable Partial Dentures:

   It is an excellent option if you are missing a single tooth or several teeth and do not want to risk damaging any of your other natural teeth. Here the replacement teeth are attached to a base matching the natural color of your gums. The natural teeth hold the plastic base, or some dentures even have a clasp to connect it to your natural teeth.

   Advantages: These are the most natural and affordable option available and are often the healthiest option for your oral health.

Schedule your free denture consultation with European Denture Centre today and receive a free denture kit ($49 value)!

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European Denture Center

European Denture Center provides high-quality, affordable, personalized and comfortable dentures and partials. Our dentures and implants are customized to match your needs and budget. Give us a call at (208) 584-5433 for the Idaho office, (208) 459-2253 for the Caldwell office, and (425) 689-7381 for the Washington office to schedule a free consultation.