Losing one or more teeth can be the start of several other progressively worse concerns for your oral health. Typically, the severity of these concerns depends on the specific cause of your tooth loss, as well as the time it takes to successfully address the loss of your teeth. Today, we explain a few things that you may have to deal with in addition to the loss of your teeth, especially if you hesitate too long to address the condition and restore your full, healthy smile.
Changes to your overall tooth alignment
The alignment of your teeth is one of the first things that can be affected by the loss of your natural tooth structure. The teeth closest to the empty space in your smile will be responsible for taking up the slack in your bite’s balance, and the pressure can force them to shift toward the space to try to make up for it. The longer it takes to replace the lost tooth, the more your tooth alignment can be impacted. As a result, tooth loss can be compounded by increasingly worse bite conditions that place your remaining natural teeth at risk of further complications.
Increased risks to your remaining natural teeth
Shifting positions and alignment under the pressure of your bite is only one of the risks that your remaining healthy teeth will face after you experience tooth loss. Because of these changes and the changes that occur to your oral health and bite function, the risks to your other teeth can also include severe complications such as the development of tooth decay, fractures or breaks in their structures, and being lost or extracted, as well. These risks may continue to impact the state of your oral health over time, and the sooner you address the loss of your teeth by replacing them, the sooner you can mitigate the threats to the rest of your smile.
Problems with your how well your bite functions
The dangers that your remaining teeth can face after you lose or more of them are significant enough to make tooth loss a significant threat to your oral health. However, the ways in which your teeth and oral structures react can also inhibit the way your jaws and oral structures function when you bite and chew. For example, when your bite is severely impacted by the loss of one or more teeth, the imbalance can put excessive stress on your jaw joints (TMJs), muscles, and more.
Learn how to properly deal with tooth loss
When you experience tooth loss, dealing with it may also require dealing with one or more additional problems as a result of the loss. To learn more, schedule a consultation with us by calling the office of Dr. Stuart Dexter in Prairie Village, KS, today at 913-362-8200.