Why You Shouldn’t Wait To Replace a Lost Tooth

Numerous situations may cause you to lose one or more teeth, which include accidents, gum disease, or even advanced decay. And while a missing tooth may not seem like a big deal, failure to replace a lost tooth puts your dental and overall health at serious risk. Here are some reasons not to overlook a missing tooth and instead get dental implants to replace the lost tooth.

May Cause Other Teeth to Shift

When you lose a tooth, the neighboring teeth may shift towards the empty space. The reason is that the teeth will have no support.

Teeth shifting may cause teeth misalignment, which compromises your ability to chew and speak. In extreme cases, you may develop TMJ disorder. This condition affects the hinge joint that connects your lower jaw to your skull. The disorder causes pain in the jaw, face, ears, and neck.

May Harm Your Self Esteem

Your smile is probably the first thing people notice. And your teeth make up a significant part of your smile. Therefore, you may feel self-conscious and avoid smiling when you have a missing tooth.

Luckily, you can regain your smile and self-confidence by getting dental implants. Dental implants are designed to look, feel, and function just like your natural teeth.

May Lead to Bone Loss

The jawbone gets stimulation from the teeth roots to remain healthy and strong. When you lose a tooth, the jawbone will not get adequate stimulation and may start to deteriorate.

Jawbone deterioration can cause your face to take on a sunken appearance. Additionally, you may not be eligible for dentures or other dental appliances because the jawbone can't support them.

To avoid bone loss, get dental implants as soon as you lose a tooth. The implants fuse with your jawbone and provide the jawbone with adequate stimulation to prevent deterioration.

May Result in Periodontitis

A missing tooth can increase your risk of periodontitis. Periodontitis is a severe gum disease that causes the gums to swell, bleed and recede. This disease results from plaque and tartar buildup.

Plaque and food debris may build up in gaps and cause gum inflammation. The buildup combines with bacteria to form tartar, which is very difficult to remove.

The tartar irritates the gums. The irritation may cause the gums to swell and bleed. In addition, the inflammation causes the gums to recede, exposing the roots of your teeth. As the disease progresses, you may lose more teeth.

Gum disease is also associated with other health problems such as strokes, heart disease, and diabetes. Therefore, visit your dentist as soon as you lose a tooth to avoid periodontitis.

May Cause Malnourishment

You need all your teeth to chew food properly. When you lose a tooth, you cannot chew as well as before, which may lead to malnourishment.



Certain foods such as raw vegetables and fruits are almost impossible to eat when you have missing teeth. Chewing difficulties may also cause you to avoid healthy but tough foods such as meat.

The lack of proper nutrition puts you at risk of developing health problems such as anemia and obesity. Also, you may experience mouth sores, and wounds may take longer to heal.

To avoid nutritional deficiencies, get dental implants as soon as you lose a tooth. Dental implants will enable you to eat all the foods you love without difficulty.

At Smiles By Hogan, we understand how a missing tooth can negatively affect your life. You can trust us to assess your oral and overall health to establish your eligibility for dental implant services. We will then develop a suitable plan for your dental implant surgery to restore your smile and improve your quality of life. Contact us to schedule a consultation.