Each tooth has a specific role and task on the jaw. If you are unfortunate enough to lose a permanent tooth, you should find a way to fix it as soon as possible to avoid negative effects on your oral health and overall health. What to do if you lose a permanent tooth? The following article will give you some suggestions.
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1. Common causes of tooth loss
1.1. Unhealthy eating habits
A common cause of tooth loss is unhealthy eating habits. Regular consumption of sugary or acidic foods and drinks without proper oral hygiene creates an opportunity for harmful bacteria to grow, leading to severe and irreversible tooth decay that requires extraction to protect the remaining teeth.
In addition, an unreasonable diet, lacking essential nutrients such as calcium and potassium can make teeth weak. When teeth are weak and have to chew a lot or often eat foods that are too tough/too hard, over time, the tooth roots will become loose, leading to early tooth loss.
1.2. Poor oral hygiene
Poor oral hygiene is also one of the common causes of tooth loss. Forgetting to brush your teeth or brushing your teeth carelessly, not changing your toothbrush after a period of use and not having your teeth scaled regularly will cause plaque to accumulate on your teeth. This plaque is home to hundreds of types of bacteria that cause many oral diseases such as gingivitis, periodontitis, tooth decay, etc. Over time, this will cause tooth loss.
1.3. Bad habits
Some bad habits in daily life such as grinding teeth, biting nails, using teeth to open bottle caps… can cause chipped or broken teeth, creating conditions for bacteria to attack and cause tooth decay. If not treated promptly, teeth can be lost permanently.
In addition, the habit of smoking is also considered the leading cause of tooth loss. Because in cigarette smoke there is nicotine that can destroy the immune system in the oral cavity, creating cavities in the gums. Gradually attacking the jaw bone and causing the risk of tooth loss.
1.4. Due to age
Age is also a cause of permanent tooth loss. The older you get, the weaker your oral health becomes due to osteoporosis. At the same time, the immune system in the elderly gradually declines, no longer able to fight harmful bacteria, making it easy to get oral diseases such as periodontitis, tooth decay, gingivitis, etc. If not treated promptly, it will lead to tooth loss in the elderly.
1.5. Due to injury, accident
Some external impacts such as trauma, accidents or strong sports activities have a great impact on the teeth. When the teeth are subjected to a strong impact, the jaw structure can be misaligned, leading to a high risk of tooth loss.
1.6. Due to other diseases
Patients with diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, etc. often have weaker and more susceptible to tooth loss than normal people.
In general, tooth loss for any reason will have negative effects on oral health and overall health. Therefore, it is necessary to fix it early to avoid the following consequences.
2. Consequences of tooth loss not being treated early
2.1. Reduced digestive function
When teeth are lost, the ability to chew will be reduced, food is not crushed well, causing the digestive system to work more and continuously. Over time, it will seriously affect the digestive system, poor absorption of nutrients can easily lead to digestive diseases such as stomach pain, stomach …
2.2. Premature aging of the face
In the position of the missing tooth, due to the lack of chewing force to stimulate the jaw bone, bone loss will begin to appear. The cheeks will gradually sink and the skin around the mouth will begin to sag, leading to premature aging of the face, making you look older than your actual age.
2.3. Temporomandibular joint pain
Not being able to use chewing force in the position of the missing tooth can cause the patient to chew on one side. If prolonged, it will have a negative impact on the temporomandibular joint. At the same time, this condition can also cause facial asymmetry, affecting facial aesthetics.
2.4. Misalignment of adjacent teeth
The appearance of a gap in the jaw will cause the adjacent teeth to tend to shift or fall into that position under the impact of daily chewing. The longer this condition is left, the more serious the shift will be. The worst result is that you can lose 2 more teeth next to the missing tooth.
2.5. Unclear pronunciation
People who lose teeth will have difficulty communicating, sometimes find it difficult to pronounce words clearly, and are prone to lisping.
3. What to do if you lose a permanent tooth?
When you lose a permanent tooth, you should find a way to fix it as soon as possible to protect your oral health and general health. Currently, there are 3 common solutions to restore lost teeth:
3.1. Removable dentures
Removable dentures are a common solution for the elderly when the area of tooth loss is large, the remaining teeth are loose, and not strong enough for a permanent restoration.
Removable jaw structure:
- Dental frame: shaped like teeth, made from many different materials such as regular plastic, flexible plastic, Titanium or Nickel – Chrome…
- Dentures: are teeth used to replace lost teeth, made of plastic or porcelain.
Removable dentures are popular with many customers because of their low treatment costs but still ensure good chewing function and aesthetics. However, using removable dentures will make many patients uncomfortable, cumbersome, weak chewing ability, easily cause bad breath and some oral diseases if not cleaned thoroughly. In addition, if used for a long time, it can cause jaw bone loss.
3.2. Cosmetic porcelain dental restoration (Porcelain dental bridge)
A dental bridge is a method of restoring one or more missing teeth by creating a bridge between two teeth next to the area where the tooth is missing.
A dental bridge is a fixed restoration, firmly attached to the original tooth stump with Cement, ensuring no odor – no pain – no inflammation .
The structure of a dental bridge includes: 2 porcelain crowns covering 2 tooth roots as pillars and a false tooth in the middle to replace the lost tooth.
In addition to helping restore missing teeth, dental bridges also provide other benefits:
- Restore bite to help chew normally
- Aesthetic restoration for teeth and smile
- Prevent crooked teeth
- Improve pronunciation
- Distributes chewing force evenly
Although this solution has many advantages, it still has some disadvantages, which is that it cannot overcome the condition of jawbone loss due to the lack of tooth roots, leading to gum recession, exposing the roots of the abutment teeth, causing loss of aesthetics.
In addition, when making a dental bridge, it is necessary to grind down at least 2 adjacent teeth to make pillars, which can weaken the teeth. In the long run, chewing ability will decrease.
3.3. Implant dentistry
Implantation is the most modern method, helping to restore lost teeth perfectly with function and aesthetics like real teeth. Implantation is performed by implanting a Titanium post into the jawbone to replace the lost tooth root. Then, a delicately crafted porcelain crown is attached on top through the Abutment joint to restore shape, aesthetics and function like real teeth.
Outstanding advantages of dental implants:
- High aesthetics, beautiful like real teeth
- Painless, minimally invasive and safe
- Prevent jaw bone loss
- Maintain facial shape to avoid sunken cheeks and wrinkled skin
- Restores chewing ability like natural teeth
- Long lasting up to forever
- Prevent digestive diseases
Above is the information to answer the question of what to do when losing permanent teeth that Westway Dental wants to send to you. If you have any questions about your dental condition, please contact us immediately, our team of professional consultants will support you as soon as possible.
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