Your overall wellbeing is impacted by the health of your teeth. When you have teeth missing, you will not be able to chew food or speak properly. It can also have an impact on your self-confidence. There are many causes for missing teeth such as decay, injury, age etc.
One of the main consequences
Of missing teeth is your chewing function being impaired. When there are one or more teeth missing, the efficiency of teeth breaking down food into digestible particles can reduce and it can be quite difficult to chew certain food. This will lead to restrictions in your diet and you can face certain nutritional deficiencies. There are many solutions to missing teeth and you can visit SD Dental Cleveland to understand the options available to you so that you can avoid the issues related to missing teeth. Your teeth has a big impact on making sounds during speech and when there are missing teeth especially when it comes to the sides or front of the mouth, the way you pronounce words can be different. It can alter your speech patterns and you will find it difficult to enunciate certain sounds or words. You will not be able to communicate as clearly as you were able to before and this can lead to confusion or misunderstandings.
There can be changes to your existing teeth as a result of missing teeth.
The teeth adjacent to missing teeth can shift into the empty space slowly and this can disrupt the natural alignment of the teeth. This can lead to crowding of your teeth and affect the bite. With time, this misalignment can lead to many issues such as uneven wear on teeth. The roots of the teeth are responsible for stimulating the underlying jawbone. This contributes to the health and density of the jawbone. This process is disrupted when a tooth is lost and the natural stimulation provided will be minimized. This can slowly lead to bone resorption or bone loss. When there is bone loss in the jaw, the structural integrity of surrounding teeth is compromised and there can be changes in your facial appearance as well. This is the main reason that your face takes on a sunken appearance when you lose teeth.
There is a huge aesthetic impact of missing teeth.
As mentioned above, loss of underlying bone density can cause your lower face to collapse and the shape of your jaw and cheeks can change. Your facial aesthetics will be greatly impacted if you have multiple missing teeth. This will lead to a prematurely aged appearance and it can take a toll on your self-esteem. Also, when there is a gap as a result of a missing tooth, this becomes a vulnerable area as food particles and bacteria can accumulate here. And if you don’t clean this area properly, your risk of gum disease will increase. When existing teeth shift as a result of missing adjacent teeth, this can lead to an uneven bite. This can contribute to temporomandibular joint disorders that you will experience as headaches and jaw pain. You may also find it difficult to open and close your mouth.