Why A Dental Implant Is Best For Missing Teeth

A gap where a tooth once was can easily ruin your smile, but it can also cause various other problems within your mouth that are small and large. While a dental bridge or flexible denture is one way to fix a missing tooth, reconstructive options like dental implants are a much better option. It will look and feel like a natural tooth in the end and prevent the following problems with your teeth.

Chewing Problems

Even a single missing tooth can cause problems when you chew food. Front teeth tend to cause more problems with eating than rear teeth, even though the molars do most of the grinding. The long-term effects of a missing tooth can cause your bite to become misaligned, which will cause pain in the jaw muscles. Dental implants will fix this problem quickly, allowing your mouth to go back to working the way it used to for eating.

Speech Problems

Your teeth have a crucial role in how you speak. A single missing tooth could easily cause a speech impediment that can be quite embarrassing around others. Issues speaking may cause you to change your behavior around others, such as being hesitant to talk or avoiding social situations. Since a dental implant acts just like a real tooth, it will restore your speech in the process.

Shirting Teeth Problems

All of your teeth depend on each other to stay aligned in your mouth. Missing one tooth will create a gap, which causes the teeth to no longer have the same amount of pressure on each other. The teeth will gradually start to shift and close the gap, which will cause your jawline to become deformed and look bad.

Misaligned teeth are also harder to clean, which will cause more oral health issues. For instance, you may find that you have more issues with food stuck in the gum line, which requires more thorough flossing to remove the food particles. Ignoring the problem will cause more bacteria to grow along your gums, putting you more at risk for having bad breath and gingivitis.

Jawbone Deterioration Problems

A bridge may fill in the gap between your teeth, but the tooth does not go into the jawbone like a dental implant does. Your jaw will not get the stimulation it needs in that part of your mouth due to the missing tooth, which can cause the jawbone to deteriorate over time. This is why people with many missing teeth often have a face that looks like it is sinking inwards at their mouth. Dental implants fix this problem by stimulating the jawbone like a real tooth.

To learn more, contact a dentist like Gregory T Grubba.