Missing teeth are a common dental concern that we treat in our Newport News, VA dentist office. Dr. William Harper has extensive experience in helping our patients achieve fully restored smiles following tooth loss. If you are unsure of whether or not you want to pursue your tooth replacement options, consider these three concerns that missing teeth present within your smile:
Cosmetic Concerns
Missing teeth often create unsightly gaps within your smile. This can make your smile look uneven and unbalanced. Cosmetic concerns should not be taken lightly. They affect how you feel about your own smile, and thus affect how you perform in your personal and professional life. When you do not feel confident with your own smile, you are less likely to smile, laugh, or speak in public. We do not want to see our patients suffering from low self-esteem because of their missing teeth. Often, we will recommend either dental implants or dental bridges to replace single or multiple missing teeth. Dental implants offer patients the most lifelike replacement for missing teeth. Because dental implants replace the actual tooth root, they can support a prosthetic tooth that will look and function just like a natural tooth, allowing you to speak, chew and smile with confidence.
Hygiene Concerns
Food residue and bacteria often get stuck in the gaps created by your missing teeth. This makes your at-home oral hygiene routine more complicated than it used to be. Now, you have to take extra care to clean around and between the gaps within your smile. Even patients with the most thorough oral hygiene habits struggle to maintain their smiles following tooth loss. This is why missing teeth greatly increase a patient’s risk of developing tooth decay or gum disease. In addition to dental implants, Dr. Harper also offers a variety of treatments for missing teeth including dental bridges and dentures. Meet with the dentist to find out which choice is best for you.
Functionality Concerns
Your teeth were designed to work together when performing daily tasks like chewing or speaking. When you are missing one or more teeth, this impacts how effective your dental structures are at performing their daily tasks. Your remaining teeth must make up for the missing teeth, creating unintended pressure points within your smile which could lead to dental damage. Additionally, patients with missing teeth are more likely to suffer from tension headaches or jaw pain created by the uneven amounts of pressure within their smiles. Patients who have lost teeth are at risk of developing more complex dental issues down the road as a result of subsequent bone loss and shifting of remaining teeth. In addition, many are faced with diminished speech capability and dietary restrictions. If you have suffered from tooth loss, please schedule an appointment with Dr. Harper so that we can address these issues ASAP.