What is the Problem with Missing Teeth?
A missing tooth is not just an aesthetic problem, it can also cause various problems in the functioning of the dental system.
A fall from a bicycle, neglected cavities, or other types of pathologies: there are several causes that can lead to the loss of a tooth. One or more missing teeth, in fact, are an eventuality that is anything but rare in the course of life. Edentulism, tor the total or partial lack of teeth, has consequences that do not have to do only with the aesthetic side of our person, since it can also have a more or less serious impact on our health.
What are the health consequences of missing teeth?
It must be considered, first of all, that the loss of a tooth, in addition to ruining the beauty of a smile, also involves problems in the functioning of the dental system. Chewing, for example, is severely impaired. This, beyond the discomfort when eating, can lead to problems for the whole temporomandibular joint (TMJ), or the whole of the chewing muscles, which can become a serious health problem. The loss of teeth, also significantly undermining the chewing function, creates various problems for our body even in the digestion phase, because improperly chewed food that reaches the stomach risks overloading it and does not allow it to perform its functions in the best possible way.
In fact, when you lose one or more of your teeth, your other teeth move and shift in your mouth, which can cause dental malocclusion, or misalignment of your jaw and bite. If your jawbones misalign or change, you will most likely start to have pain in your facial muscles. Due to the nature of this problem, this pain will not go away until the root cause of the missing teeth is fixed.
Also among the consequences of missing teeth are also the modification of the structure of the face and difficulties in pronunciation while speaking, which could decrease the probability of interaction with other people in the social context.
Additionally, there is definitely a link between dental malocclusions and headaches: if your jawbones do not line up adequately, there is uneven distribution of tensions while moving and chewing, which can cause chronic headaches.
In short, a missing tooth is an aesthetic question, but not only that. Fortunately, however, there are several solutions. However, before illustrating the possible solutions to missing teeth, it is useful to clarify that, in the event that a tooth has been lost due to trauma and has been able to recover it, it must absolutely not be thrown away. Instead, it should be kept in a jar, perhaps with a little saliva and salt, and immediately go to the dentist. Before too much time passes, in fact, it will probably be possible to re-implant the tooth, reinserting it correctly within the tissues.
There are many problems with missing teeth, even if they are in the back of your mouth and cannot be seen. We recommend speaking to your dentist about your options for replacing missing or lost teeth as soon as possible.