Why Should You Replace a Missing Tooth?

Sometimes we’re faced with tough decisions dealing with our mouth and teeth. At Sachem Dental Group we pride ourselves on educating our patients so that they can make the right decisions concerning their oral health; we’re here to address any concerns that you may have!

One such concern is tooth loss. Ideally, one would keep their natural teeth as long as possible. However, one day you may be told that a tooth is not salvageable, and the only form of treatment is extracting it.

Afterward, you may be given the option to replace the missing tooth. Some replacement options include a fixed bridge, dental implant or a removable partial denture. We’ll provide you with appropriate recommendations, but ultimately it is up to you to decide which one is best for your lifestyle.

You may even consider not replacing the tooth at all. However, you should know the consequences of what this choice can have on your future smile. Here are a few to keep in mind…

Your Teeth Will Shift

Extracting a tooth has long term effects on your remaining teeth. When considering treatment options, you should know that losing a tooth will leave a space in your jaw bone that was specifically reserved for it. Once your jaw detects that there is extra room, it will naturally try to close it in by shifting the other teeth around. This is a gradual change that you may not notice at first. However, it eventually causes them to lean drastically and opens spaces between other teeth which attracts food to become impacted. All of these issues can lead to gum disease, bone loss and tooth decay. If you previously went through orthodontic treatment, extracting a tooth without replacing it will have traumatic effects on your properly aligned bite.

Oral Hygiene Challenges

Angled and slanted teeth, along with large spaces in the dentition make it very difficult to properly clean them. With so many directions needed to brush in, your toothbrush may not be able to reach them all, no matter how hard you try. Extra care will be needed in order to maintain the health of the remaining teeth. Improper cleaning techniques can cause gum disease or decay to develop. Seeing our dental hygienist regularly will help! We’ll will give you pointers to improve your home care and thoroughly clean those hard to reach areas.

Stress on Other Teeth

Though you have less teeth after an extraction, your jaw still uses the same amount of bite force to chew. In turn, this causes additional stress on the ones that remain. Unnecessary force on remaining teeth leads to breakage and advanced wear on both healthy tooth enamel and existing dental work.

Visual Appearance

The visual appearance of our smiles is important to most of us. The average smile shows between six to eight teeth per arch. So, if you are forced with extracting one of these teeth you may strongly consider replacing it due to aesthetic reasons.

Sachem Dental Group is a multi-specialty general dentistry practice serving Long Island and Suffolk County for over 35 years. If you are missing a tooth and want to know your replacement options, schedule a consultation with one of our experienced oral health providers.