How Losing a Tooth Reverberates Through Your Whole Body

There are a bunch of reasons you might lose a tooth – accidents, health complications, drug use, gum disease. Many US adults are missing a few teeth; it’s (unfortunately) pretty common. But did you know that leaving those gaps in your smile affect way more than just your smile? They even affect just way more than your mouth and jaw. Something as simple as ignoring a single missing tooth can have adverse health effects that reach far beyond that little gap in your gums.

Effects on Your Teeth and Jaw

Your gums protect the roots of your teeth and all the interaction between your tooth roots and your jaw bone, but they also stabilize the position of all of your teeth. That’s one of the many reasons gum disease is such a dangerous condition if left untreated. So leaving an empty socket where your tooth used to be can have quite a few consequences.

Your jawbone will start to deteriorate in that area, because it has no stimulation from blood flow or chewing activity. The area itself will be way more susceptible to harboring pockets of bacteria, which means higher chances of developing an infection in the gums or jaw. You might have trouble chewing or speaking, depending on where you’re missing the tooth. Your other teeth will start to shift and might affect the alignment of your bite. And all of those things might give you chronic headaches. Doesn’t sound like fun, right?

Other Health Risks of Missing Teeth

Believe it or not, missing teeth increase your chances of developing other health problems. The body really is a system – something malfunctioning somewhere almost always affects the functioning of other parts of the body as well. For instance, tooth loss that resulted from gum disease can increase your risk of heart disease, and can cause premature births in pregnant women. It’s also been linked to risks for developing dementia later in life, and increases your risks of oral, lung and pancreatic cancers. When you add all those possibilities up, it’s high-key scary.

What to do to Replace Missing Teeth

Okay, so now that we’ve gotten real dark about tooth loss, let’s touch on the myriad of things you can do to replace those missing teeth. First of all, getting into a dentist regularly is key to all preventative and reparative oral care. Second of all, you’ve got several options to replace those teeth that will help preserve the health of your mouth. Dental implants, implant bridges, bone grafts, gum grafts, treatments for osteoporosis – these are just a few of the options you have to fight the negative effects of tooth loss, as well as prevent further tooth loss. Talk to your dentist; your health depends on it.