Total tooth loss is a condition in which all teeth on one jaw or both jaws are lost for some reason. If you are unfortunate enough to encounter this condition, you should find a way to fix it immediately because it not only greatly affects your health and spirit but also causes many dangerous consequences.
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1. What causes total tooth loss?
Not only the elderly are at risk of tooth loss, but sometimes young people are also at risk if they encounter the following problems:
- Long-term periodontal disease
Periodontitis is a common oral disease that causes loose teeth and tooth loss in adults. When suffering from periodontitis, the following symptoms will appear: receding gums, pain, bleeding gums when brushing and flossing, and tartar accumulation causing bad breath.
If this condition persists, it will not only affect the gums but also spread to the alveolar bone, causing tooth loss and total tooth loss.
- Tooth decay, root apex infection
Tooth decay or infection of the root tip will affect the inner pulp of the tooth. When the pulp is inflamed, it causes pain and discomfort, forcing you to have the pulp removed to reduce that condition. When the tooth no longer has pulp, it means that the source of nutrients that sustains the tooth’s life is also gone, the tooth will gradually weaken, become loose and fall out early. Losing a tooth can lead to the loss of the entire jaw if the lost tooth is not treated promptly.
- Head, face, neck injuries
Some injuries to the head, face or neck can affect the entire jaw, and in the worst case, can cause complete tooth loss.
2. Consequences of complete tooth loss
Losing all teeth will leave the following serious consequences if the patient does not promptly correct it:
- Decreased chewing function, affecting the digestive system
When all teeth are lost, the ability to bite, tear and grind food seems to be completely lost. At this time, the digestive system will have to work at full capacity and the gastric juice must be secreted more to digest large amounts of food because it is not crushed before being put into the body. If this condition persists, especially in the elderly, it will lead to serious digestive diseases such as stomach ulcers, intestinal perforation, etc.
- Jaw bone loss causes gums to shrink, premature aging of the face
The symptoms of people who have lost all their teeth are easy to recognize, which is often a severe underbite of the upper or lower jaw, causing the face to be deformed and look older than the actual age.
The reason is that, when there are no teeth, the jaw bone will gradually disappear due to the lack of chewing force to stimulate growth, leading to gum atrophy. Gum atrophy causes the cheeks to become sunken, the skin to wrinkle and sag.
- Causes complications of headaches, temporomandibular joint pain and memory loss
Losing all teeth, especially the lower jaw, if not treated promptly will cause the jaw bone to atrophy, causing the gums to shrink. When the gums shrink, it will pull the nerves closer to the mucosa, causing headaches, temporomandibular joint pain, sinusitis, and most seriously, memory loss…
- Incorrect pronunciation, lisp
The incisors are very involved in pronunciation. When you lose all your teeth, including all your incisors, your voice will change, making you sound windy or lisping, and you may even spit out saliva when you speak.
- Loss of communication confidence, affecting work
Losing all teeth seriously affects health and causes loss of facial aesthetics, making patients tired, mentally depressed, losing confidence in communication and unable to concentrate on work.
- Causes difficulty in later treatment
If the entire jaw is lost for a long time without being treated, the ratio and quality of the jaw bone will gradually decrease, making tooth restoration difficult. Even dental implants (the most advanced tooth restoration solution today) because the bone density is not guaranteed to support the implant pillar to stand firmly.
Losing all teeth causes many dangerous complications, affecting both the mental and physical health of the patient. Moreover, this condition can occur at any age. Therefore, dental experts advise that when you lose a tooth, even one tooth, you should treat it as soon as possible to avoid unwanted consequences.
3. Popular solutions for full-mouth tooth loss restoration
Nowadays, with the great advances in modern dental technology, the condition of losing all teeth is no longer an obstacle. We can completely restore lost teeth without any dangerous complications.
There are currently two popular methods used in dentistry to help overcome the problem of total tooth loss. Depending on the needs and financial capacity of each person, there are different options.
- Classic removable denture restoration
Removable dentures are a type of denture made up of two parts: gum tissue (made from dental plastic) and false teeth (ceramic or metal), which are attached directly to the patient’s real gum tissue.
Before making dentures, the doctor will check the patient’s general oral health, especially the gums. In case the patient has oral diseases, the doctor will treat them first and then place the dentures.
Removable dentures are popular with many customers because of their low treatment costs but still ensure quite good results. However, removable dentures only fix the tooth body, without the tooth root underneath, so after a period of use, jaw bone loss still occurs.
Moreover, the chewing force is quite weak, unable to chew tough, hard foods so it is only suitable for the elderly.
- Full mouth dental implant All On 4/ All On 6
This is the optimal solution for full-mouth tooth loss restoration today. Not only does it effectively overcome the limitations of removable dentures, but it also offers many other outstanding advantages such as high aesthetics, durable chewing, long life…
The All On 4 technique is performed by having CT scan results. After the doctor has implanted 4 implants in different positions on the jaw, the chewing force will be applied evenly to the entire jaw.
When the 4 Titanium pillars integrate with the jawbone, 10-12 porcelain teeth will be covered on top to restore the aesthetics as well as the chewing and pronunciation functions… like real teeth.
Instead of using 4 Implant pillars, All On 6 uses 6 pillars to implant in calculated positions to distribute force to the entire jaw bone.
The All On 6 technique is used in cases where the jawbone has been resorbed too much to ensure more stability. With All On 6, the doctor can restore 12 – 14 dentures for 1 jaw.
It can be seen that All On 4/ All On 6 Implant is the most effective solution for restoring missing teeth in the entire jaw today. Therefore, the cost of Implant is often higher than the traditional solution. However, with what it brings, this cost is completely reasonable.
Depending on each tooth loss subject and treatment cost, the doctor will advise on the appropriate treatment method. Therefore, if you are unfortunate enough to lose all your teeth, you should go to a reputable dental facility for the doctor to examine, diagnose and provide the best dental restoration solution for your case.
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