Restoring your lost teeth offers a few benefits you may not have considered. If you need to replace one or more lost teeth, your Glendale, AZ, dentist, Dr. Gregory Becker, can help you improve your smile with dental implants.
The effects of tooth loss
Losing even one tooth can have quite an impact on your smile and your health. After tooth loss, you may experience:
- Decreased Self-Esteem: Looking in the mirror after you've just lost a tooth can be a shocking experience. The gap in your smile may make you feel less confident and outgoing, even around people you've known for a long time.
- Shifting Teeth: When there's a gap in your smile, your other teeth begin to drift toward the opening in an attempt to fill it. Shifting teeth can alter the alignment of your teeth, leading to appearance issues and bite problems. You may also be more likely to experience jaw pain or stiffness and headaches if your teeth become misaligned.
- Extra Wear and Tear: Your remaining teeth must do all the work after you lose a few teeth. Eventually, these teeth may crack or break due to abnormal wear and tear.
- Eating Difficulties: Tooth loss makes chewing a little more difficult. If you've lost several teeth or all of them, biting and chewing can be particularly challenging.
- Bone Loss: A strong jawbone relies on constant stimulation from your tooth roots. Decreased stimulation due to tooth loss can lead to the jawbone losing density, a condition that occurs when the bone shrinks. Facial sagging and loss of additional teeth can occur as a result.
Dental implants help you avoid common tooth loss issues
Dental implants offer an innovative way to replace the roots of lost teeth. Tiny titanium posts placed in your jawbone during minor oral surgery in Glendale, AZ, become your new roots. These posts, commonly called implants, bond to your jawbone and provide a stable foundation for dental crowns, bridges, or dentures attached to the top of them.
Dental implants improve your appearance, make eating easier, prevent your teeth from shifting, reduce the risk of bone loss, and decrease the wear and tear on your remaining teeth. They're an excellent option no matter how many teeth you've lost.
Tooth loss doesn't have to change your appearance permanently. Dental implants can help you fill the gaps in your smile. If you're interested in implants, call your dentist in Glendale, AZ, Dr. Becker, at (623) 979-9454 to schedule your appointment.