Are you missing teeth and trying to decide if you should do something about it? Missing teeth are more than just a cosmetic issue, but a health issue as well. Missing teeth expose your mouth to real risks that you may not be aware of. Learn about your options and improve your health.

What Do I Risk with Missing Teeth?

You may think that missing teeth only hurt your smile’s appearance, but they can significantly hurt your oral health and overall health too. Sadly, missing more than just one tooth is very common in most countries around the world. Especially in third-world countries, missing teeth happens in just about every adult. When trouble with a tooth arises, the answer is to simply pull it. But what really happens to your mouth if you are missing a tooth? Just one tooth can cause many things to start happening in your mouth.

Losing a tooth means that the surrounding teeth have to overcompensate for that loss of structure in the mouth. Sometimes, an opposing tooth will grow longer to fill the space that is there from a missing tooth. Just one missing tooth causes the closest two teeth to lose structure and support. That could cause those teeth to become weak and lose, which causes eventual tooth loss again. If patients have chronic problems such as tooth decay and gum disease, there is often a domino effect with teeth being lost. One small tooth can cause you to lose many. Plus, how well you take care of your oral health is an indication of how well you take care of your overall health. Others may see missing teeth and assume other health conditions as well. When it comes to losing teeth, you miss out on more than just a lost tooth.

What Are the Statistics?

You may be surprised to know just how common it is to have missing teeth—even in the United States! Check out these shocking statistics:

• 36+ million Americans are missing all their teeth in one or both jaws.
• An adult mouth should have 32 teeth (including the wisdom teeth). However, the average American between 20 and 64 only has around 25 teeth.
• On average, American adults are missing around 3 teeth.
• Over 120 million Americans are missing at least 1 tooth.
• Only 2.3 million dental implant crowns are made each year.

What To Do About Missing Teeth?

If you are missing a tooth, don’t wait to have it fixed! Waiting can only make further tooth loss more likely in your surrounding teeth. You can make dramatic improvements to your smile and to your oral health through cosmetic dental services. These services include:

• Dental Implants – Are you missing just one tooth? Restore it easily with a dental implant! This is a custom-made tooth that we make in our lab that takes the place of a missing tooth. At your first appointment, we insert a metal post into your jaw that then heals into place. This post will then be topped off with a dental crown, which looks like a natural tooth. Dental implants are a great way to fix a smile before further tooth loss and loss of structure sets in.
• Dental Bridges – A dental bridge works great for patients who are missing teeth but not enough to warrant dentures. As we mentioned, one missing tooth can cause the surrounding teeth to lose support and fall out. If you have several missing teeth in a row, we can provide custom-made prosthetic teeth to fill all of those gaps. We hook these teeth together, and provide a post at either end of this “dental bridge”. Those posts are then placed into a patient’s jaw where they will stay for many years. This provides structure and support to a smile that’s been damaged and weakened by several missing teeth.
• Dentures – If you have severe tooth loss, dentures are your best bet for restoring your smile. However, your smile also has to be healthy enough to hold dentures. If you have severe gum disease, your gums may not be able to hold dentures in place. Working with a dentist can help get your gum disease under control. For patients who can get dentures, they can get partial dentures for one jaw or a jaw with many missing teeth. Or, a patient can get full dentures. These come in both removable versions or ones that are surgically set in place.

Prevention Is Your Best Option

We hope that every patient can keep all of their teeth for their entire lives. Did you know that you actually can? Old age doesn’t mean that you have to be missing your teeth. You are not destined to have dentures. However, dentures are actually wonderful devices for people who need them and who have had their teeth come out. Many people will have this happen, but not all. If you take care of your oral health, you may be over 90 and still have your natural teeth. That all depends on your genetics and if you followed great oral hygiene practices. You should be brushing your teeth at least twice a day. Brushing after every meal is even better, as this helps remove all that stuck-on plaque that causes tooth decay and gum disease. Both of these conditions lead to missing teeth.

Flossing is another essential and needs to be done at least once a day, if not several. Limit the amount of sugars you eat to reduce the amount of plaque your mouth makes that causes decay. See the dentist at least twice a year for comprehensive exams and dental cleanings. You can even add fluoride to your routine to build stronger teeth and mouthwash to rid your mouth of decay-causing bacteria. All of these preventative measures only take a few minutes to do! If you have missing teeth, call Mountain Aire Dentistry today (303) 731-7755 and see what we can do to restore your smile!