Beyond a Pretty Smile: Why Replacing Missing Teeth is Essential for Your Oral Health

Losing your baby teeth as a child was exciting and made for cute photos, but the same can’t be said of losing teeth as you grow older. In fact, the loss of a tooth can have a widespread effect on your overall dental health, which is why finding a suitable replacement is more than just a cosmetic concern.

At Beaches Dentistry in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, Nodesh Shyamsunder, BDS, and Jasleen Raina, DDS, offer several dental solutions to patients with missing teeth — giving them something to really smile about for years to come.

Here’s what the Beaches Dentistry team wants you to know about the importance of replacing missing teeth.

No backup plan

When you lost your baby teeth as a child, there was nothing to worry about, as your adult teeth were already forming in their place. In fact, your baby teeth were simply placeholders that accomplished the tasks of teaching you how to chew and speak as their more permanent counterparts began to take shape inside your jawbones.

As your primary teeth fell out, your secondary teeth erupted in their place to provide you with a lifetime of service. At least that was the plan.

But life often has other plans, and some of your adult teeth may have been injured or affected by disease, breaking, falling out, or requiring extraction. And this time, no replacement teeth are waiting to take their place.

The domino effect

While a missing tooth can be visually displeasing, the loss can also have a cascading effect on the rest of your teeth and your overall dental health.

Each of your teeth maintains a specific position in your mouth and, together, they create your bite and hold each other in place. When you lose a tooth, your surrounding teeth may start to shift without the support of that tooth. If the neighboring teeth shift, the others next to them may shift as well, causing movement all along the row, disrupting your bite, and jeopardizing their stability.

This shift in your bite can lead to uneven wear and even temporomandibular joint disorder, which is a painful condition that affects the hinges in your jaw on either side of your mouth.

A crumbling foundation

When you lose a tooth, you don’t just lose the visible part. The root of your tooth comes out along with it, which leaves a hole in your jawbone. 

Your bones are living tissue that need stimulation to regenerate cells to keep them strong. When that area of your jawbone is no longer in use, this stimulation shuts down, and your bone begins to deteriorate. The net effect is that your jawbone loses bone mass, which can have a devastating impact on your overall oral health and worsen your cosmetic concerns exponentially as your mouth develops a sunken-in appearance.

The replacements

Now for the good news. We offer solutions for missing teeth, including the gold standard: dental implants. Unlike dentures, a dental implant mimics a new root with a metal implant to prevent bone loss in your jaw. Once your implant is fully integrated into your bone, it’s topped with a custom-contoured, tinted crown that seamlessly blends with the rest of your smile.

Other options for missing teeth include dentures and bridges, which effectively prevent shifting teeth, but don’t have the same advantage of stabilizing your jawbone as dental implants do.

Every situation is different, and the Beaches Dentistry team is here to help you navigate the solution that’s best for you. 

If you have more questions about options for missing teeth, book a consultation with one of our experts. Call the office at  904-246-6714 or request an appointment using our online booking feature today.