If you are missing a single tooth, it can be tempting to take the easiest and quickest way out. If the missing tooth is in a hard-to-see spot and does not affect your smile, you may even choose to ignore it. However, neglecting to replace a missing tooth can have devastating effects on your overall dental health. Additionally, if you do choose to replace the tooth, certain restorations can provide better protection for your oral wellness. A single dental implant from your Milford dentist can restore your smile and safeguard your dental health.
What Happens When You Don’t Replace a Tooth?
It might seem that a missing molar is no big deal. After all, it doesn’t affect your speech or your eating habits, and unless you peer closely into your mouth, it doesn’t impact your appearance, either. However, over time that single missing tooth can cause a host of dental problems. Teeth shift naturally to fill in the gaps left by other teeth. If left untreated, your entire dental arch may move out of alignment. While the missing tooth might not be noticeable, a mouthful of crooked teeth will be hard to miss. Teeth don’t just move to the side; they can also move down to fill in gaps. This means that when you are missing a tooth on the bottom arch, the corresponding tooth on the upper arch can grow right out of your gums! Finally, your teeth naturally want to touch. When you have a missing tooth or when your bite is misaligned, you may start to grind your teeth at night. This is your body’s way of (unsuccessfully) trying to bring your teeth into alignment. In turn, consistent teeth grinding can cause dental damage, headaches, jaw pain, and even TMJ.
How Does an Implant Protect My Health?
By now you may be convinced that tooth replacement is definitely a smart choice. When researching different restorative options, there is a good reason to consider an implant: dental implants are the only dental restorations that can protect and restore jawbone health. A missing tooth leads to jawbone degeneration. When your tooth is not there to send the necessary regenerative signals, the width of your jawbone in that area can decrease by 25% in the first year alone! As the jawbone continues to shrink, it can affect the surrounding teeth, and eventually you may lose them as well. With each lost tooth, your jawbone is compromised even more. A dental implant includes a synthetic root, as well as a crown. Therefore, the restoration can continue to send the necessary regenerative signals to promote jawbone health and protect your remaining healthy teeth.
To learn more about dental implants, including single tooth replacement and implant-supported dentures, call our office at 203-878-6699. We proudly provide lifelike dental restorations to patients in Milford, West Haven, Orange, Woodmont, and the entire 06460 area code.