Teeth can be lost from disease, injury, birth defect or decay. Any of these can result in missing teeth in adults from simply falling out or being removed. Missing teeth, however they have been lost, can result in many dental and health problems. Dr. Burton Melton offers advanced teeth replacement in Albuquerque.
The Effects of Bone and Tooth Loss
Your diet can be greatly affected by missing teeth in adults. Missing teeth inevitably will cause misalignment. Misaligned teeth can make chewing difficult, and in some cases downright impossible. The inability to chew properly limits your diet to foods that can be chewed easily. This is problematic beyond losing the ability to eat some of your favorite foods. A limited diet might not meet your nutritional needs, causing constipation, weight loss, arthritis, indigestion, and rheumatism.
Misaligned teeth caused by even one tooth missing affects its counterpart and the supporting bone structure. Just one tooth missing may cause the remaining teeth to shift in your mouth, altering your bite pattern and leading to head, neck, and jaw pain.
Missing teeth in adults can also affect your speech. Common letter sounds such as s, z, d, x, n, th, and sh require tongue-to-tooth contact to be pronounced properly. Missing teeth can cause a lisp when attempting to make these sounds that can be embarrassing and make it difficult for people to understand you. Missing teeth also broadens your tongue, without anything to keep it in place, also affecting your control and ability to speak understandably.
Beyond speaking and chewing, there is another serious side-effect to be aware of: bone loss. Your teeth stimulate the bone in your jaw, or the alveolar bone. Lacking the natural stimulation teeth provide by being anchored to this bone, the bone begins to deteriorate.
The rate of bone deterioration varies person to person, but in every case it begins almost immediately after a tooth has been lost. The deterioration continues throughout life, and eventually reaches a point when dental prosthetics can no longer be useful due to the lack of bone to support them.
Teeth hold the lips and cheeks in place. Missing teeth in adults will affect your facial structure without their natural support system. When your mouth is closed it will have the appearance of being “sunken-in,” aging you considerably.
If you are interested in teeth replacement in Albuquerque to stop further health problems exacerbated by missing teeth in adults, call the office of Dr. Melton today.
