In addition to diminishing your appearance, missing teeth can also result in several health issues. For instance, missing teeth provide bacteria with sufficient access to your gums to cause an infection.
However, most people don't see the necessity to get a dental implant, especially if the missing teeth are not an issue to their self-confidence. However, a dental implant can help solve several dental issues in addition to restoring your self-confidence.
In most cases, people neglect to get dental implants because they don't realize they need them. Here are four signs that you need to get dental implants.
Frequent Gum Infections
When you have a tooth extracted, the exposed gum area becomes susceptible to a myriad of injuries. Thus when you are chewing hard foods or brushing your teeth, the exposed gum area acquires minute injuries that sometimes go by unnoticed.
However, the microscopic tissue damage on the gums often allows bacteria to enter your gums and cause an infection. Sometimes the infection also spreads to the adjacent teeth causing them to decay.
Therefore, if you experience frequent gum infections, chances are your exposed gums are the primary cause. Thus, it would be best to get a dental implant to cover the exposed gum area to minimize its exposure to bacteria.
Bridge and Crown Keep Falling Off
Bridges and crowns are primarily used to help with chewing. However, they are installed on top of your teeth. Thus, when you chew vigorously on hard foods, there is a likelihood that the crown or bridge can become loose or fall off. If you have experienced such a situation more than once, your dentist has probably recommended getting a dental implant.
A dental implant gets fixed into your jaw bone so that it provides maximum support when chewing. Instead of having your crown or bridge fixed on top of your teeth, it is better to have them supported by a permanently fixed dental implant. Irrespective of how hard you chew, the crown or bridge will remain securely fixed on the dental implant, and you won't have to visit your dentist for regular adjustment frequently.
Deteriorating Jaw Bone
Your teeth and jawbones have an efficient system where one supports the other. When you have a tooth removed, the support system becomes compromised because an extracted tooth leaves a weak spot on your jaw bone. As a result, the adjacent teeth can begin to move around because of the chewing pressure.
As your teeth move around, the jaw bone starts to deteriorate because the movement forces the cavities that host your teeth to start expanding. If the situation gets left unchecked, your jaw bone will deteriorate to the point your teeth will become loose or fall off.
Thus, when a dentist realizes your jaw bone has started to deteriorate and your teeth are starting to shift position, you must get a dental implant to restore the integrity of your jaw bone and prevent more teeth from falling out.
Your Face Starts to Slump
In addition to hosting your teeth, your jawbones also provide support for your facial features. Thus, when the jawbone starts to deteriorate due to multiple missing teeth, your face will start to slump.
Such an occurrence is primarily common in older adults because their ability to regenerate bone tissue is minimal. Hence, sometimes the change in facial structure in older adults is not just the result of old age. Chances are their jawbones have deteriorated as a result of missing teeth.
If you have lost multiple teeth and your face structure is starting to change gradually, you need to get a dental implant to ensure your jawbones maintain the support of your facial appearance.
Share11 May 2021
Do you have "bad teeth"? I do. Ever since I was a kid, every checkup turns up a number of issues ranging from cavities to dental fractures. It has always been frustrating to keep my smile in decent shape, which is one of the reasons I started focusing on understanding different dental problems. I wanted to know what I was getting into when I visited the doctor, so I began focusing on learning as much as I could. I wanted to create this blog all about dentistry so that other people could find out what to expect when they head to the dentist. Check it out!
