Often when a person loses a tooth, particularly a molar or another tooth toward the back of the mouth, it goes overlooked. Pain quickly subsides, bleeding goes away, the area where the tooth was heals, and the person doesn’t think it is a big deal. After all, one missing tooth that isn’t that noticeable isn’t a big deal, is it? The fact is that one missing tooth can cause a chain reaction throughout the mouth leading to some very real dental health issues.
What most people don’t realize is your teeth play a very important role in maintaining jawbone volume and strength allowing them to support your smile and facial structure. When you chew food, the force exerted by the food on the teeth, and, therefore, the tooth on the surrounding bone helps build bone strength and structure giving your smile strength and support. Without this repetitive, constant stress causing an adaptation of bone growth, changes can occur negatively affecting your smile. If a tooth is missing, the bone in the area where the tooth once was begins to resorb or go away, leaving behind weakened jawbone around adjacent teeth, altered facial structure, and even making it more difficult to restore the missing tooth down the road. This phenomenon is especially present in the early stages after a tooth is missing, with the most rapid horizontal and vertical bone loss occurring in the first 3-6 months with more gradual loss occurring following that time period.1
Even though you may not think it’s a big deal, changes in bone strength and volume can cause more of an immediate impact than just the long-term implications mentioned above. With lower bone density and missing chewing implements, even in a small area of the mouth, bite is altered and chewing strength decreases, potentially causing issues eating your favorite foods. In fact, research indicates that two of the top indicators of chewing performance are number of teeth remaining and functional pairs of teeth.2. With each tooth lost, foods like steak, chicken, and even apples can become difficult to process properly, leading to not being able to enjoy the foods you once loved. All this from a single missing tooth.
Luckily, Dr. Polyakov and the expert team at Synergy Dental Implant and Oral Surgery Center have a solution to restore your smile, prevent bone loss, and get you back to enjoying the foods you have always loved while maintaining a smile you can be proud of. Dental implants are the ideal solution to replacing missing teeth and restoring your smile to its former glory, all while adding the functional benefit of stimulating the bone just like your natural teeth.
It is important to note that not every missing tooth requires immediate treatment. Dr. Polyakov and his team can evaluate the location of the missing tooth, aesthetic and functional impact, and level of bone loss progression through advanced imaging techniques to determine the proper treatment plan for each individual patient. However, it is important to have your missing tooth evaluated early in order to have as many options available to you as possible. Restoration often becomes harder over time due to bone loss and potential shifting of adjacent teeth, so establishing a baseline can be paramount to success of the treatment plan.
At Synergy Dental Implant and Oral Surgery Center, we understand that each of our patients is unique. Therefore, our treatment plans should be as well in order to offer our patients the best possible long-term outcome. If you or someone you love is missing a tooth, don’t wait another day to have it evaluated. Even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal now, it can lead to some real problems in the future. Call us today and schedule your dental implant consultation with Dr. Polyakov and give yourself the lifetime of smiles you deserve.
- Tan WL, Wong TLT, Wong MCM, Lang NP. A systematic review of post-extractional alveolar hard and soft tissue dimensional changes in humans. Clin Oral Implants Res. 2012;23(suppl 5):1-21. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0501.2011.02375.
- Fan Y, Fang J, Zhan Y, et al. Association between masticatory performance and oral conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Dent. 2023;129:104393. doi:10.1016/j.jdent.2022.104393
