4 oral hygiene tips from Dr. Michael Boisson, your friendly dentist in the Peace

Have you lost a permanent tooth due to trauma or tooth decay? Are you thinking about getting a replacement tooth? Well, if you have answered yes to these questions, then this is the perfect article for you. Losing a permanent tooth is a negative experience that no one wants to encounter. Unfortunately, it usually happens suddenly and unexpectedly due to various reasons such as trauma, severe tooth decay or even old age. If you have lost one or more teeth, you might be tempted to ignore the problem instead of getting dental bridges. This is not a wise choice to make since missing teeth can pose several hidden dangers including:

1. Increased risk of tooth decay

A missing tooth creates an unnatural gap in your dental formula. This provides the perfect hiding place where small food particles and bacteria can hide. The resulting effect is usually tooth decay in the adjacent teeth. If the tooth decay remains untreated, it could become worse and worse, thereby eventually necessitating a tooth extraction which results in another missing tooth. Afterwards, the vicious cycle begins again.

2. Severe misalignment

Have you ever seen what happens when you remove one card from a meticulously constructed house of cards? Well, the entire structure will come crashing down. This is the same case with your teeth. When you lose one tooth, the rest will slowly begin to shift to try and bridge the gap created. This results in severe misalignment which might require you to wear braces to fix the problem.

3. Difficulty in communication

Your teeth play a fundamental role in sound articulation. This means that when one or more teeth are missing, it could lead to perpetual mispronunciation of common words. This will seriously hamper your day-to-day communication with your family, friends and even co-workers. How do you overcome this? The solution is simple. Get replacement teeth in the form of fixed bridges and your pronunciation will be instantly rectified.

4. Unsightly appearance

Missing teeth are one of the most noticeable cosmetic dentistry problems. Whenever you smile or laugh, everyone will notice your missing tooth. This could lead to a bias or a negative perception since people tend to associate missing teeth with criminals and outlaws. In order to maintain a presentable appearance, make sure you get a replacement right away.

5. Sudden bone loss

This is a serious problem that mainly affects the elderly who lose their teeth with old age. When you have one or more missing teeth, the remaining bone structure slowly loses its shape and density. This can create a vacuum that forces your facial skin and muscles to get sucked in, thereby creating a concave appearance which is common among senior citizens.