According to the American College of Prosthodontists 120 million Americans are missing at least one tooth. There are many reasons that people can lose their teeth, such as cavities, periodontal disease, trauma or genetics. Missing even one tooth can cause a gap in your smile leading to an unwanted appearance.

Although a missing tooth can affect your confidence when smiling, did you know it can also affect your ability to eat and can also cause permanent damage to other teeth in your mouth? Here are some ways these spaces can impact the remaining dentition:

• More Stress…the adjacent teeth have more stress on them now. This lack of support can cause bone loss, mobility or a fracture in the tooth and can eventually lead to another extraction and more lost teeth!
• Totally a Drift…since there is nothing for the adjacent tooth to contact, it will start drifting forward into the missing space. This can cause difficulties in keeping the area clean and can lead to decay.
• Gravity Takes it’s Toll…if the missing teeth are on the bottom, the opposite tooth on the top will start drifting down.  Gravity will cause the top tooth to move down since there is nothing to stop it.  Eventually, the tooth can drift down so much that with enough bone loss the tooth will need to be removed.

 

The good news is there are several ways to replace missing teeth. The most common options are an implant, bridge, or partial denture. All of these options can stop the impacts of the missing teeth while also improving your smile and chewing capabilities.

 

Check out this case below and how Dr. Dhaliwal helped this patient with a missing tooth.

 

BEFORE

This patient was concerned about the missing tooth.  The tooth broke off under the gum line and wasn’t able to be saved.  The patient didn’t care for the look of the gap when she smiled.  Also, she found it difficult to chew in that area.

 

 

AFTER

After an evaluation, Dr. Dhaliwal and the patient both agreed that a bridge would be the best treatment option.  The bridge not only took care of the missing tooth but also replaced a broken crown in the tooth in front of the missing space and helped strengthen the tooth behind the missing space that had a large failing filling.  Both the patient and Dr. D were super excited with the results.

 

Improve the health of your mouth and schedule your consultation with Dr. Dhaliwal today to discuss what options you have in replacing your missing teeth!