Failing to get dental implants in Orlando can put you at risk of further tooth loss. This in turn can cause anxiety or depression, changes in your facial features, ongoing financial burdens, and embarrassment in social or professional situations. Fortunately, dental implants and other restorative techniques are more effective and more affordable than ever before.
Five Consequences of Tooth Loss
Your body is like a machine. While it’s made up of many different components, it’s designed to function as one unit. That means that anything which affects one part of it can have repercussions for the rest. Here’s what this means when it comes to your oral health:
- Further tooth loss. Even a single missing tooth can weaken those around the gap. Your teeth are designed to work together in chewing your food and performing other tasks. When even one tooth is absent, the remaining teeth are subject to unnatural stress that can make them crack and break over time.
- Social and professional difficulties. Whether we like it or not, our society judges us by our smiles. Anesthetic issues with our teeth can have all sorts of negative consequences, from social anxiety to missed income opportunities.
- Emotional or psychological unease. Good self-confidence is essential for our mental health. Confidence In Self is influenced by the image we present to the world. Discolored, uneven, damaged, or missing teeth can reduce our self-esteem, rob us of our natural poise, or even contribute to problems like depression and anxiety.
- Financial burdens. Poor dental health is expensive. Besides the cost of ongoing dental care, the patient may also suffer from reduced income due to missed days at work or inability to focus on one’s profession. Over time, these problems can make a substantive difference in the person’s financial situation.
- Changes in facial features. Our teeth work as an interconnected system with our facial bones and muscles. Tooth loss can lead to bone resorption, a condition in which the area around the mouth begins to sink into the face. This is a serious problem from both a cosmetic and practical point of view.
As you can see, the potential consequences of tooth loss are quite serious. The good news is that modern dentistry has many options for addressing this challenge. They include:
- This is one of the oldest and most popular forms of dental restoration. Dentures have enabled millions of patients to live better lives. But they also have serious drawbacks. The denture wearer must settle for a restricted diet and worry about the appliance coming loose during social or professional situations.
- Crowns and bridges. Both forms of treatment can restore much of the functionality lost to missing teeth. But they depend upon the patient’s remaining healthy teeth to support the restoration.
- Dental implants. For most patients, this is the best possible option. Implants fuse with the patient’s facial structure through a natural process called The result is the closest possible thing to fully restored natural teeth.
Talk to your dentist in Orlando soon about the restoration methods outlined in this post. All of them offer a positive alternative to the consequences of untreated tooth loss. We wish you and yours a happy and healthy 2019.
About the Author
Dr. John Russo has been practicing dentistry for over 25 years. Dr. Russo earned his DMD degree from the University of Florida College of Dentistry and completed advanced training during his time in the U.S. Air Force. You can reach his office online or by calling (407) 470-1224.
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