Think that there aren’t any real consequence to missing teeth? Think again! Missing teeth isn’t just a cosmetic issue. Teeth fulfill all kinds of roles, some of which require that they all work together. Gaps can, and do, make a difference in the overall wellness of your mouth/body.
Why do adults lose their teeth?
There are several common reasons why you might lose a tooth as an adult.
- Accidents and trauma: Painful events, such as taking an elbow to the teeth during a family football game, are one common way that people lose teeth. This is usually a one-time event that accompanies a trip to the dentist right away. Although painful, teeth that get knocked out are typically of less concern than those lost for other reasons.
- Tooth decay: Poor dental hygiene, if left untreated and uncleaned can cause tooth loss. This can be caused by a number of factors including, tobacco use, teeth grinding (bruxism), nutritional deficiencies, and poor dental hygiene.
- Drug use: Drugs, such as methamphetamine, can cause many dental issues, with tooth loss being among the most common.
How to prevent missing teeth
Although there are solutions for fixing a missing tooth, the best solution is prevention. Maintaining an effective oral health regiment is your first defense in keeping all your teeth healthy and happy:
- Brush your teeth: Brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste. Brushing your teeth helps remove plaque and bacteria that typically can cause tooth decay. This helps keep teeth strong and healthy for as long as possible. Make sure your toothbrush bristles are in good condition. When they start to show wear, it’s time for a new toothbrush (about every three months).
- Floss at least once a day: Daily flossing helps ensure that no pockets of food can stay in between your teeth. Similarly, to brushing your teeth, daily flossing helps to prevent decay, which is a major contributor to tooth loss in adults.
- Eat healthy: A healthy diet that avoids excess sugary foods and drinks can dramatically reduce tooth loss. Eating a diet that cuts out soda, candy, and other sugary foods helps prevent tooth decay and plaque buildup. This can help keep your teeth healthy and strong.
- Avoid tobacco use: Tobacco products cause a host of problems for your teeth. Both chewing tobacco and tobacco smoke typically cause gum disease and receding gum lines which in turn can cause teeth to decay and fall out.
- Regular Dentist Visits: You may not think that you need to see a dentist twice a year if your teeth have been healthy. This is not the case. Having a professional clean the plaque off of your teeth is a key to help ensure good tooth health. Additionally, when you see your dentist regularly, they can identify and correct any issues regarding tooth decay before it is too late.
What happens when teeth are missing?
- Shifting of Teeth: It is the presence of neighboring and opposing teeth that maintain the position of the teeth. When a single tooth is missing, the teeth around it (on the sides and biting against it) will slowly move into the newly emptied space. The neighboring teeth will begin to lean sideways toward the empty space, and the opposing tooth (especially if the missing tooth is on the lower jaw) will drop down into the empty space below. This also affects the cosmetics of the smile. This type of shifting can make teeth appear crooked since they lean at a different angle. It can also result in small gaps in the front teeth as the teeth in general shift back into an empty space.
- Changes in the Bite: All of that shifting causes changes in the way the upper and lower teeth bite together. Bite changes can lead to TMJ problems, tooth sensitivity, gum recession, and cracked teeth. The reason this shifting is harmful to the bite is because teeth withstand chewing forces best from an angle that is parallel to their roots. When the tooth leans, the roots also lean, and then the biting force is no longer parallel to the root. Biting forces are naturally heavy in order to chew food. Putting a heavy force onto a tooth at an improper angle is bad.
- Inadequate Chewing Force: Unfortunately, people are much more likely to remove a back tooth because it does not affect the appearance of the smile. The problem with that mentality is that it negates the importance of the back in your ability to chew. Our molars have large, wide chewing surfaces made to grind food, which is an important first step in the process of digestion. Missing even one molar causes a drastic reduction in the effectiveness of chewing. People missing multiple teeth often suffer from digestive problems and have a higher risk for choking on unchewed pieces of food.
- Increased Risk for Gum Recession: Gum recession almost always occurs on the side of teeth facing the empty space. The presence of a tooth helps maintain the height of gum tissue between the teeth. If a tooth is missing, the gum has no pressure from adjacent teeth and slowly recedes down the root. Gum recession also results from the shifting or leaning of teeth that commonly occurs when you extract a tooth. Changes in bite forces are an irritant to the gums and can cause recession, too. Losing a tooth causes you to also lose otherwise healthy gum tissue. It is important to understand that replacing a missing tooth with an implant can prevent that gum loss if completed soon after the extraction. Waiting several years, however, allows the gums to recede more, and a dental implant will not “fix” them. Replacing a missing tooth with an implant as soon as possible allows you to maintain the healthiest, most natural gum tissue.
- Increased Risk for Cracked Teeth: When you lose a tooth, the shifting and bite changes on the teeth around the missing one lead to an increased risk for cracked teeth. Again, the teeth can withstand the heavy forces of chewing when those forces hit the teeth at the correct angle. When bite forces hit a tooth at an inappropriate angle, the tooth is likely to crack under the stress. A surface crack can cause sensitivity to hot or cold and pain on chewing. A crack that extends into the tooth may cause irreversible changes to the nerve within the tooth, which means a root canal treatment is necessary to keep the tooth. Some cracks spread all the way into the root of a tooth. Root fractures have a hopeless prognosis, meaning the tooth has only one treatment option: extraction.
Impacts of missing teeth
A missing tooth can be both uncomfortable and unsightly. But missing teeth can also cause health problems that you may not have thought of before².
- Trouble with chewing: Depending on where your missing tooth is you might have trouble and even pain when chewing. For example, missing molars or teeth in the back of your mouth will typically make it difficult to chew and grind hard food such as nuts or crackers. While missing an incisor or front tooth will typically make biting off bits of food very difficult.
- Speech problems: You may not notice it, but your teeth play a key role in the formation of sounds and words as you are speaking. The sudden loss of a tooth or many teeth can make it difficult to speak. Sometimes a missing tooth can even make a whistling noise when you attempt specific sounds.
- Chronic headaches: Chronic headaches, such as migraines can be caused by a host of dental issues. One of these issues is tooth loss. When you lose a tooth it can alter your bite pattern causing a chain reaction that ends with a headache.
- Oral Infection: Missing teeth could also increase your risk of an oral infection, which could spread to the rest of your body and cause more serious issues. When you lose a tooth you also are leaving an exposed area of gum tissue open. This tissue could become infected through simple actions like chewing food.
What to do if you are missing a tooth
If you find yourself in a position where you are missing a tooth, either from an accident or from tooth decay, please make an appointment at our family dentist office in Beaufort, SC immediately. If your tooth has been knocked out, they may even be able to put it back without an implant or bridge.
If you have lost a tooth due to poor oral health, it is also important that you see a dentist as soon as possible. Some may find this embarrassing; however, it is the dentist’s job to help you to get a healthy smile back. The issues that you are experiencing will likely get worse until you see a dentist.
Options to fix missing teeth
There are several common solutions to fixing a missing tooth. Some of these are more invasive and expensive than others. Here are a few typical options to help address the problem and stave off future oral health issues:
- Dentures: A denture is a sort of dental apparatus that goes in your mouth, with fittings for the spaces where missing teeth used to be. Dentures can help to protect gums where missing teeth used to be. They also can help protect adjacent teeth from excess damage from chewing. Dentures are typically made of metal or acrylic and can be partial for cases where you still have some natural teeth, or complete in cases where all your teeth are missing. While dentures may be a good solution, it is also important to recognize that bone loss can still be an issue because you are not putting pressure on the bone to stimulate growth. If you do have dentures make sure that you still are getting regular X-rays to monitor bone loss.
- Bridges: A bridge is a “filler” tooth that’s mounted to teeth on either side of where the lost tooth was, and bonds to your mouth. Bridges can help to fill the gap and protect your exposed gum line from chewing and damages. A dental bridge may have some negative aspects as well. One is that you will need to be diligent when cleaning under the bridge to ensure that food and bacteria are not trapped underneath. Another common issue with bridges is that your dentist will need to mount it on existing teeth, potentially damaging the adjacent teeth as well⁴.
- Implants: A dental implant is a more permanent solution than dentures or bridges and may feel more natural and like a real tooth. A titanium support is fused to the jaw, then a false tooth is fitted onto the support. Your existing natural teeth may not be affected by a dental implant and are typically the best long-term solution to a missing tooth.
If you are missing a tooth and interested in a dental implant or bridge, schedule a consultation with one of our dentist on Lady’s Island. Dr. Ashley Covington or Dr. Perry DuRant will discuss your dental health, cosmetic goals, and budget concerns to determine what options are right for for your particular case. Contact us at 843-986-0177 or request an appointment online.