Tooth loss can make you look years older than you really are which in turn can affect the decisions you make in your life and often prevent you from taking the opportunities offered. Tooth loss not only causes embarrassing gaps in your smile, but even if the gap is at the back of your mouth and hidden from public view, it’s still something you should be concerned about.
Once a tooth is missing from the jaw, the neighbouring tooth begins to shift position and this can affect your bite and cause gaps elsewhere in your teeth. Not only this, but the bone surrounding the area where the tooth once was can start to deteriorate and decay very quickly. This is one of the main reasons why dentures start to feel uncomfortable and loose. Bone loss can spread and lead to disease in your gums, which puts all of your teeth at risk, just from losing that one tooth.
One answer to tooth replacement can be a bridge, but this option does require the healthy neighbouring teeth either side of the gap to be filed and ground down into shape to hold the bridge.
The reason why a missing tooth causes bone loss is that the jawbone relies on stimulation from the teeth to keep it strong and healthy. If it isn’t being used, then it just starts to waste away. If you’ve ever had an arm or leg in plaster for several months and seen the condition the muscle and bone is left in when the cast is removed, then you’ll have a better understanding of what we mean by this.
Dental implants in Richmond or anywhere in the country for that matter, provides an affordable and safe solution to the problem. An implant will act as a replacement tooth root and carry on stimulating the jawbone preventing bone loss and helping regenerate additional bone and soft tissue.
Most of our patients say that the dental implant procedure sounds far worse than it is. The surgery takes place under local anaesthetic so no pain is felt and any bruising or swelling is gone within a couple of days.
Once the dental implant procedure is finalised and your new tooth or teeth are in position you’ll be pleased at how comfortable they feel and how like natural teeth they look and act. You’ll be able to bite into hard foods and chew once more, so your diet should also improve as it becomes more varied. What’s more with your false teeth color matched to your remaining teeth, no-one will be aware that you’ve even got a dental implant. Maintenance is easy too, with twice daily brushing and flossing, as well as regular dental visits being all that is required.
If your missing teeth are holding you back from getting on with your life, then we can help. We’ve been fitting dental implants in Richmond with great success for many years and have a wealth of satisfied patients. If you’d like to find out more, then why not call Sheen Dental for a free consultation on 020 8876 5277 or visit our website at www.sheendental.co.uk.