If you have missing teeth, it can be emotionally challenging. It can also hamper your ability to enjoy or consume nutritious foods like crunchy vegetables and complex fruits—and nutrition contributes to your oral and physical health. In fact, current tooth loss can even lead to future tooth loss!
Let’s explore the causes of tooth loss, how to lower your risks, and the best tooth replacement options to restore oral health.
Tooth Loss Causes
You might lose teeth for various reasons, including injury, untreated tooth decay, and advanced gum disease. Your dentist in Lodi or Elk Grove, CA, can help you maintain your teeth for life, but it’s essential to schedule and keep regular preventive appointments for checkups and teeth cleanings.
Oral Injuries
If you have a damaged tooth due to injury, seeing the dentist as soon as possible is essential. We can often treat the injured tooth and cap it with a dental crown to restore function and prevent loss.
Tooth Decay
Dental cavities can happen at any age. They are not just a rite of childhood. If a cavity is not treated, it will grow. Eventually, the tooth may crumble, leading to loss. However, the dentist can often treat even a large cavity and prevent this loss through treatment and crowning.
Gum Disease
Gum disease is a progressive condition that starts as gingivitis. In the gingivitis stage, your dentist can reverse the situation and restore your oral health. However, if you don’t seek treatment, you risk advanced periodontitis, which cannot be cured, though it is still treatable.
Without treatment, you’ll eventually lose your teeth. Strong dental studies have also linked untreated gum disease to severe conditions like Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis, heart and lung issues, and so much more.
Symptoms of gum disease include:
- Bleeding gums during oral hygiene sessions
- Red, irritated, or inflamed gum tissue
- Loose or shifting teeth
- Bad breath that recurs after brushing
- Gum pocketing and recession
You don’t have to have all these symptoms to be diagnosed with gum disease, so regular dental checkups are your best defense.
Lower Your Risks for Tooth Loss Today
- Be sure to brush and floss your teeth at least twice daily; if you can do so after every meal, all the better.
- Visit your dentist in Lodi or Elk Grove, CA, at least every six months for checkups and dental cleanings.
- Report oral health changes to your dentist as soon as possible.
- If you smoke or use tobacco products, we encourage you to consider quitting.
Tooth Replacement Options
Dental Implants
Single tooth replacement options that restore complete tooth anatomy—root to crown.
Implant-Retained Dentures
Dentures fixed to the jaw using four to six dental implants.
Complete Dentures
Removable dentures that are customized in color and fit to complement your bone structure and shading.
Partial Dentures
These denture prosthetics stand in for partial tooth loss, relying on healthy teeth and clips for stabilization.
Dental Bridges
Restoration teeth are connected to healthy natural teeth via crowns.
Benefits of Tooth Replacement
Besides aesthetics, there are many benefits to tooth replacement.
Benefits of tooth replacement include a more youthful appearance. For example, the lower face may appear sunken when teeth are lost. This changes the profile, giving you a prematurely aged appearance.
Missing teeth also invite remaining teeth to shift on the gum, which throws off your bite and alignment. In this case, specific teeth are taxed with chewing and begin to wear quickly. Eventually, these teeth can develop decay or even fracture.
Another common issue when teeth are missing is jawbone loss. Jawbone loss contributes to the sunken appearance but can also expose tooth roots, leaving you vulnerable to tooth sensitivity and even gingivitis. Dental implants and implant-retained dentures are the only tooth replacement options that support jawbone health.
Finally, tooth replacement successfully restores your ability to chew healthier foods, including vegetables and complex proteins. A healthy diet and good nutrition impact your oral health and overall wellness.
Which Tooth Replacement Option Is Right for You?
We schedule a tooth replacement consultation with one of our dentists to learn which options suit you. At this visit, we provide a thorough exam, looking at bone health and checking for any underlying conditions. We also answer your questions and tell you what to expect with the various options.
Sometimes, you’re an immediate candidate for a specific option. Other times, you’ll need pretreatments. Your dentist will let you know. We’ll also discuss costs, including third-party financing options through CareCredit or LendingClub if required.
Tooth Replacement, Including Dental Implants in Lodi and Elk Grove, CA
If you’re considering tooth replacement, we want to encourage you! A complete smile contributes to better oral health and allows for enhanced nutrition. Call us today to schedule a consultation with the dentist or if you have questions for our team. Also, remember to ask a team member about our current dental specials and exclusive in-office plan.