Losing or breaking a tooth is no fun, and doing so can even be painful. Once it’s gone, you may wonder if you need to replace it. After all, you have 31 other teeth, right? You’re probably chewing and speaking well enough and really, why pay to fix it?
While that sounds logical from spending standpoint, there are many important reasons to replace a missing tooth.
Cosmetic Reasons
First, you might not realize the damage a missing tooth causes to your confidence. If your smile has changed dramatically, you may soon find yourself approaching life differently. You may smile less or find yourself less sociable. We often think of things as “just cosmetic,” but it’s amazing how much a change in your appearance can affect your overall well being.
Shifting Teeth
Second, when you lose a tooth, your adjacent teeth no longer have adequate support. Also, the gap causes the bone and surrounding structures to begin to deteriorate. Your remaining teeth will continue to lose support as deterioration progresses, which means over time, your teeth will shift. Eventually, you will notice changes in the way you eat, and the gum where the tooth is missing will become irritated. Misaligned teeth can lead tooth decay and gum disease, which can spread throughout the gums to impact your surrounding teeth and underlying bone.
In other words, without replacing that missing tooth, you run the risk of losing more teeth.
Tooth Replacement Options
Losing or breaking a tooth may not seem like a big deal at first, but it is critical to find a tooth replacement before more damage occurs. Depending on which tooth is broken, cracked, or lost, you have a few options for correcting the problem:
- Dental implants
- Bridge or crown
Dr. Klooster can examine your mouth to determine which choice is right for you. Contact Klooster Family Dentistry to discuss your options after losing a tooth.