Your smile’s appearance may be your first concern if you have suffered tooth loss, and that’s understandable. However, it’s important to consider the ramifications for your dental health as well. You’ll want to think about how the tooth replacement treatment you choose will affect the rest of your smile.
Some other tooth loss-related consequences include jawbone atrophy and negative effects on neighboring teeth. Indeed, tooth loss can compromise the stability of your smile. This, in turn, can make it harder for you to eat a nutritious diet, which can affect not only your oral health, but your general wellness, as well.
The different options to restore your smile after tooth loss vary significantly in terms of their structure. Only a tooth implant replaces the absent tooth’s root in addition to the crown. That root serves a very important function—stabilizing the surrounding jawbone. When it is missing (and not replaced, as is the case with dentures or bridges), the jawbone erodes.
Therefore, dental implants do a better job of reproducing the function of biological teeth. They are more effective at chewing, and they promote greater stability in the smile.
So, when an oral surgeon successfully places a dental implant in your jaw to replace a missing tooth, your oral health will benefit. Your smile’s structure will remain largely the same, and the contour of the jaw will be constant. You’ll be able to chew nearly all of the foods that you enjoyed prior to tooth loss, as well. The comfort of dental implants is high, as well. Because of the structural similarities, they feel more like biological teeth.
Talk to our surgeon or another member of our knowledgeable team of dental professionals about the effects that tooth loss can have on your health. Learn as much as you can about all of your tooth replacement options, so that you can choose the one that is most suitable for your circumstances and most beneficial for your oral health.
When you’re ready to schedule a consultation with our surgeon, call us at Texas Oral Surgery Specialists!
