Whenever you lose a tooth, the effects are immediate and frustrating. Not only does your smile gain an unsightly gap, but your oral health can begin to diminish quickly. You will find normal activities like speaking and chewing greatly impacted as you adjust to the hole in your smile. To fully complete your bite, you may have to shift your jaw in odd positions to touch your teeth. The strain this puts on your jaw joint can lead to recurring pain and a disorder called TMJ. Because the texture of certain foods can harm or stick in your gap, you begin planning your meals according to what you can safely chew instead of what you enjoy. To put an end to these developments, consider restoring your tooth with a prosthetic replacement to close your gap and return your bite!
At your Ankeny, IA dentist’s office, we can help you restore your smile after losing a tooth. With prosthetics such as dental implants, we can return the functional aspects of a full set of teeth with a lifelike appearance. Learn how we help you combat the impact of missing teeth by taking charge with a desirable replacement!
The Consequences Of Missing Teeth
You may think losing a single tooth is of little functional consequence as most people grow 32 adult teeth. This could not be further from the truth as every single one of your teeth contributes to the total operation of your bite. Left untreated, a missing tooth opens a gap that neighboring teeth begin to drift towards. As remaining teeth shift out of position, your bite misaligns, beginning a host of oral health issues. Because the force of your bite is now unevenly distributed, certain teeth wear at an accelerated rate and lose their protective enamel. The loss of this layer increases your risk for tooth decay and can reveal an unfortunate yellow hue. The additional force can even crack and chip your teeth, causing the need for extensive reparative work or potentially even more lost teeth.
Restoring Your Smile With A Dental Implant
At Dental Impressions of Ankeny, we could replace your lost tooth with a dental implant. While this solution returns your biting ability and its alignment, an implant can offer unique benefits for the health of your jawbone as well. This is because an implant post mimics the function of your tooth’s root, returning the transfer of force that is lost when you lose a tooth. Regular stimulation of the jaw by your bite signals the body to maintain its density, and without an implant, a missing tooth can quickly destabilize your jaw.
Speak With Your Ankeny, IA Dentist About Restoring Your Lost Teeth!
Restoring your missing tooth can help you prevent the consequences of a shifting bite while returning your smile. For more information on placing a dental implant, schedule an appointment with your Ankeny, IA dentist, at (515)207-6182. We also serve patients who live in Alleman, Elkhart, Bondurant, and any other surrounding community!
