Whether you're missing one tooth, or several teeth, it can have impacts on your health that are much deeper than appearance.
In this article by SMILE, it's explained how chewing, speech and muscles are affected when teeth are missing. Research shows that people with missing teeth have a higher likelihood of:
- Systemic Disease
- Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Premature Aging
- Facial Collapse
Not only that, according to the article, in the absence of teeth, the other surrounding healthy teeth can move into a wrong postion, affecting your bite even further and causing pain in your head or ear. These things happen slowly--you won't instantly have these problems when you lose a tooth--but it's important to take care of the missing tooth or teeth before any additional issues occur.
The SMILE article reads:
People with missing teeth do not even realize that they are not adequately chewing or digesting food.
When chewing food, enzymes from saliva mix with food to begin the digestion process. Missing teeth translates to missed opportunities for thorough enzyme activity and therefore, it challenges the gastrointestinal system. In this situation, people actually eat enough but do not get the proper nutrition, which lowers their metabolic rate! Elderly people also have a lower metabolic rate. Broken or missing teeth allow them to only eat “easy” food, like coffee cake, which forms a bad habit over time. Some are actually malnourished and less able to fight off disease.
Dental implants are a great, permanent solution for your missing tooth or teeth. With a documented success rate of 95%, we peform many dental implant procedures for our patients. There is no tooth-replacement option that will give you a longer-lasting result. Implants also help preserve tooth-supporting bone that naturally deteriorates when a tooth is lost. Loss of bone is one of the major hidden consequences of losing teeth.
This article by Colgate also talks about the advantages and success rates of dental implants:
Because a dental implant feels and looks like a normal tooth, it can do wonders for a patient's self-esteem. Many people who were shy about smiling due to a space from a lost tooth feel perfectly comfortable after a dental implant. Beyond the aesthetics, a dental implant also makes it easier to eat and speak, since a titanium post secured directly in the jaw holds the implant in place. Thus, an implant doesn't come loose like a denture. Dental implants also benefit general oral health since they do not have to be anchored to other teeth, like bridges.
Insurance companies often cover part of the cost, and we offer the implants at competitive prices. If you're interested in finding out more, you can click here to read more on our website, or you can call our office at (708)788-8200. We'd be happy to talk to you.