Missing teeth can affect your overall facial appearance.
With a missing tooth, especially if it is visible when you smile, you may likely experience low self-confidence. You might even stop smiling altogether! The teeth that are missing may also make the skin around your mouth to appear differently since there is no longer the support of the teeth. You could also experience sagging skin in these areas.
Chewing will also be challenging, especially when the missing teeth are molars. Without teeth, the existing adjacent teeth can become loose, causing further problems with chewing. This may also cause malnutrition as a result of the difficulties in eating food. Because of the many issues associated with not having teeth, replacing your missing teeth should be a consideration.
There’s more to consider when you have missing teeth. You may also experience difficulties in speech. Without teeth, the bone that was supporting them is affected. You are highly likely to experience reduced bone density because of this. The jaw can deteriorate which will often give the cheek a hollow look.
Further tooth loss can make you more susceptible to jaw fractures. As a result missing teeth, your gums and bones no longer receive stimulation. This will cause the gums to recede and the jaw bone to shrink, weakening your neighboring teeth.
When some of your back teeth are missing, a collapsed bite could occur. The space left in between teeth should be filled to avoid teeth drifting. Should your teeth shift and grow in a zigzag manner to fill the space, it makes for crooked teeth which are very hard to clean and can result in more tooth loss. When teeth are lost, the remaining teeth move and drift which can cause interference in ones' bite, leading to TMJ dysfunction and/or periodontal disease.
Dental implants are a recent development in dentistry that has been helping to restore smiles and is one of a number of options available. It is crucial to protect the teeth by brushing regularly and going for regular check-ups with Dr. Sachs to avoid cases of tooth decay and loss of teeth!