5 Dangers of Not Replacing a Missing Tooth

Tooth loss can be caused by a wide variety of reasons, such as injury, disease, decay, or simple wear and tear. Tooth loss is nothing to be ashamed of, and you need to know you are not alone. In the U.S. alone, more than 120 million people are missing one or more teeth.

While missing teeth isn’t uncommon, you should not be tempted to not address a missing tooth, as ignoring this issue could be dangerous. A missing tooth can affect your physical as well as your mental health. Here are five dangers involved.

When you are missing a tooth, it may cause your teeth to not come together as they should for a perfect bite. This maladjustment, or malocclusion, can cause a wide range of problems you may not even associate with your missing tooth or teeth. Some of these include:

Failure to correct bite alignment issues can lead to further dental issues in the future. So you should address your missing tooth before you develop bit alignment issues and further issues.

Your teeth do more than aid you in chewing. They are part of the support structure of your face. When you have one or more teeth missing, you will not have as much support in this area of your face. So you will eventually lose the density of your jawbone in the area where the teeth are missing. This is because the regeneration of your jaw bone is dependent on the stimulation that comes from your teeth making contact with each other throughout the day.

Depending on where the missing teeth are located, you may also experience pinched, puckered, or sagging of your facial tissues. The missing teeth may also cause your face to appear to be out-of-line or asymmetrical. All of these changes to the underlying structure of your facial structure can cause you to prematurely age, or to at least look older than you are.

There are many different components that must come together in order for you to speak. Some of these components include your lips, teeth, palates, tongue, vocal folds, nasal cavity, uvula and jaw. When one or more of these are not in place, you are at risk of having speech impediments.

Missing teeth, especially if they are in the front of your mouth, will often have a distinct impact on the sounds you are able to make. Sounds that involve "s," "th," and "ch," require tongue to tooth contact in order to produce them. If a tooth or several teeth are missing, your tongue has nothing to make contact with, which in turn will make it difficult for you to produce these sounds.

When you have a missing tooth or teeth, you run the risk of your remaining teeth trying to fill the void that has been left behind. Many times, this void will cause your missing teeth to shift out of place, which can make brushing and flossing your remaining teeth more difficult. Not being able to adequately brush and floss can allow more bacteria to build up in your mouth, tartar to build up on your teeth, and increase your chances of having gum disease.

Missing teeth can also have a psychological effect on you by affecting your overall self-esteem. When you are self-conscious about a missing tooth or other dental issues, you may be more reluctant to engage with people you don't know or speak in public, and you may smile less.

Fortunately, you do not have to go through life with missing teeth. Treman & Treman Family Dental Care is committed to providing patient-centered customized dental care to take care of all of your dental needs. Give us a call so we can help you avoid having a missing tooth or teeth.