Award-winning dentist, Sam Latif, DMD, has been providing compassionate and gentle cosmetic dental care to patients from in and around Columbus, Ohio for more than three decades. Dr. Latif has been voted Top Dentist in Central Ohio by his peers 8 years in a row, as published in Columbus Monthly and The Columbus Dispatch. For the past 16 years, he has been named one of America’s Top Dentists by the Consumers’ Research Council of America and a Leading Physician of the World by The International Association of Dentists. Read on to learn how missing teeth can affect your overall oral health with Haute Beauty expert Dr. Sam Latif. 

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Are you one of the 120 million Americans missing a tooth and not seeking to replace it?

You might think this isn’t a big issue, especially if it’s a back tooth and out of sight when you smile. However, failure to replace missing teeth can create further complications for your remaining teeth and put your overall health at risk.

Missing teeth are a major cause of bone loss

● Your teeth help to support and stimulate the bone of your jaw. When a tooth is gone, its natural roots are no longer embedded in your jawbone and bone loss can occur. In addition, the void caused by the missing tooth can change the shape of your mouth, which puts the neighboring teeth and gums at risk of tooth decay.

● The vacant space between your teeth can also cause the neighboring teeth to shift out of their natural position to fill the gap. Although this process of shifting can occur naturally or because of gum recession or tooth decay, missing teeth will accelerate the process. When your teeth move out of their normal positions, your bite is affected and may become misaligned. That will make it difficult for you to eat and drink properly, and it may also trigger headaches, muscle pain, TMJ, and accelerated wear-and-tear of your remaining teeth.

Photo Credit: ShutterstockIt’s hard to eat properly when you have teeth missing

● Each tooth has a particular function when it comes to eating, whether it’s tearing chunks off food or gnashing it down so it’s ready to swallow. When certain teeth are missing, you may not be able to eat food in the same way; for example, if you lose any back molars you might be unable to grind up the meat and other tough food.

● When this happens, you’ll probably change to eating on just one side of your mouth where the teeth are unaffected. Unfortunately, though, this shift can cause the teeth on that side to wear down quickly and be more susceptible to cavities and decay.

A broken smile can damage your self-esteem. If you are avoiding smiling for the camera whenever a photo opportunity comes along, this could be a sign that it is likely that your missing teeth are affecting your self-esteem. When your smile has a space that’s visible whenever you smile, laugh, or talk, you’re less likely to do those activities without being self-conscious and embarrassed. Not only does this make socializing hard to do, but it can affect your mental health too.

Replacement of your missing teeth is imperative to your health and your self-esteem. Costs for replacing missing teeth can range and can be made affordable for all income levels. Do not miss taking care of yourself because you fear the cost involved.