How Missing Teeth Can Change Your Life
Portland, OR
 In decades past it was considered normal to have missing teeth. If a tooth was bothering you, you simply had it pulled. This ideology can still be questioned by patients today, especially when the cost for restoration seems high. At Malmquist Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, we always advise our patients to take measures to protect, restore, and rebuild teeth whenever possible. Missing teeth will negatively impact both your oral and overall health in ways you may not have considered. We can evaluate your needs and create a treatment plan that’s right for you.
Your oral health matters. We use our mouths constantly, for eating, breathing, and speaking. Your mouth is designed with many working parts that rely on each other to work cohesively. Each part has a role to create one whole functioning unit. A missing tooth is one piece that is no longer functioning and it can cause a cascade of effects to the whole structure.
How Do Missing Teeth Negatively Impact My Health?
When a tooth is lost there are both immediate and long term changes that occur. These changes include:
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Atrophy of the Bone: Our bone is extremely hard working, persistently working to strengthen and rebuild. When the bone determines that an area is no longer being used, it pulls back those valuable resources and applies them elsewhere. This is true with tooth loss as well. When a tooth is lost, the supporting bone in that area realizes that the bone is no longer being used because the motion and energy in that spot stops, and it pulls back resources and the bone decreases in size due to sorption.
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Wandering Teeth: Missing teeth open up room for neighboring teeth to roam in an uncontrolled manner. This will cause adjustments to your bite, which are often not in your favor. Many patients will inform us that they think this is okay because of overcrowding, but this movement would only be okay if completed in the control of an orthodontist.
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Adjustments to your Function: Missing teeth often leads to changes to your diet or how you chew food. Patients with missing teeth frequently begin to omit certain foods, for instance they find that they can not chew certain meats easily, or nuts, or bite into apples. Or, they try to continue to eat all of their regular diet but only chew on the other side of their mouth. Both of these adjustments will cause negative effects in the health of the patient. |
How Can Missing Teeth Be Rebuilt?
Missing teeth can be restored with varying options. We are happy to discuss different resources available to rebuild and restore your missing teeth, whether it is one tooth, several teeth, or all of them. The fastest growing dental restoration for missing teeth today is with the surgical placement of a dental implant.
A dental implant is a titanium or ceramic post that we embed into your jaw. It allows our team to rebuild the tooth from the root up. This surgical restoration is best for your bone health, and your oral health. We can use a dental implant to restore:
If you have missing teeth that are affecting your life, contact us at Malmquist Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. We will guide you on the proper restoration that best suits you.
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