This article provides a list of important reasons why a missing tooth or several missing teeth should never go without replacement.

Whether you have lost one tooth in a nasty car accident, or have steadily lost them over the years to gum disease, dental implants offer fixed and long-lasting solutions that simply aren’t rivaled by any other tooth replacement technology. Losing a tooth has a devastating effect upon the appearance of your smile. Even if the tooth has gone missing or been extracted from the back of your mouth where it is not entirely visible, there are some serious consequences for your oral health.

The Health Considerations of Ignoring Missing Teeth

Experts in the placement of Manhattan dental implants always stress the importance of replacing missing teeth as soon as possible. And not just with any dental technology, but with implants, which are designed to replace both the root and the crown of the tooth.

Sure, it’s easy to ignore a broken down or missing tooth, especially if it’s stopped hurting and is not really visible when you smile. But there are three important health considerations to take into account here, all of which are addressed by Manhattan dental implants:

1. Infection: Until it has been removed and the socket cleaned out, broken down teeth that are no longer restorable can provide easy access for bacteria to enter into the jaw bone and create and abscess or chronic area of infection. Your best bet is to book yourself an immediate appointment with an implant dentist who can remove the offending tooth, clean out the socket and replace the tooth before infection has had a chance to do seriously painful damage!
2. Dental Stability: Each tooth in your mouth provides support for its neighbors. When you lose a tooth, the adjacent teeth suddenly have nothing preventing them from migrating into the empty space left behind, which is precisely what they’ll often do. This dental instability passes down the tooth row in a domino effect, causing each tooth to slowly migrate into a new position. By replacing the missing tooth with a dental implant, your dentist can prevent instability from leaving your dental arch disturbed and vulnerable.
3. Jaw Bone Health: What really sets Manhattan dental implants apart from other tooth replacement technologies is that they replace both the tooth root and the crown. This restores the important stimulation – transmitted via the tooth roots – the act of eating provides the underlying jaw bone with. It’s this stimulation and ‘exercise’ that keeps this hard tissue healthy and strong. People who don’t have missing teeth replaced at all, or opt instead for inferior technologies such as dentures or bridges frequently suffer from jaw bone loss as a result of atrophication (shrinkage) of the hard tissue. Dental implants promote excellent jaw bone health, preventing all sorts of other problems in the long run which can then be costly and difficult to correct.

A Final Note on Dental Implants

These health considerations are just a few of the reasons you should never ignore a broken down or missing tooth. You also don’t want your smile aesthetics, bite functionality and ability to speak properly to be compromised by one or more missing teeth. Always put your oral health first, choose the best tooth replacement technology available – dental implants – and you will find yourself enjoying a much higher quality of life.

This four-part article series presents a suite of interesting facts every dental healthcare practitioner wished their patients knew and practiced.

Welcome to the second installment of this four-part article series on the many facts and important tips Manhattan dental implants professionals wished patients knew. In our previous article post, they explained the following:

1. It’s not normal for gums to bleed.

2. Floss that frays quickly may be a sign of a cavity.

3. You should see the dentist at least once a year, even if nothing feels wrong.

We’ve got another 9 facts to get through, so without further ado…

4. Tooth decay is the second most common disease in the United States.

“Second only to the common cold, tooth decay is the most pervasive disease affecting the population of the United States,” says the Manhattan dental implants expert. “The problem is, most of the afflicted Americans don’t know that they have a problem! Until bacteria infiltrate the insides of the tooth, where the nerves are housed, it’s difficult for patients to know that their tooth is at risk, because there are no nerves in dental enamel. Therefore, a surface cavity or decay won’t necessarily cause any pain.”

“A cavity that extends into the dentine of the tooth can cause sensitivity, but even this is frequently ignored. Unfortunately, too many patients wait until a tooth is irreparably decayed until they seek treatment. Then it’s an appointment with a Manhattan dental implants surgeon and not the general dentist!”

5. You should never store your toothbrush in a small, closed container.

This may come as a surprise, especially because it’s the well-known oral health and hygiene companies that have made toothbrush storage containers popular, but the truth is these appliances may be causing your brush to become contaminated.

“In between uses, your toothbrush should be left in a place where it can dry,” explains an 'All On 4' implants expert. “Bacteria love warm, moist environments and the small, contained spaces inside those toothbrush caps prevent evaporation, effectively creating an environment that favors bacterial growth. Once you’ve used your toothbrush, rinse it off thoroughly and stand it upright in a glass in a bathroom cabinet or medicine cabinet.”

6. Think your teeth need a whitening treatment? A simple professional cleaning could be enough to do the trick.

“Many patients are quick to turn to cosmetic procedures to improve their smiles, when, in most cases, all it really takes to keep a smile beautiful, white and healthy is good oral hygiene. For the same reason, going for a professional cleaning may be all that stands between you and a much improved, far whiter smile,” explains the Manhattan dental implants expert.

“Plaque, which is essentially oral bacteria, deposits on the teeth and hardens over time to form tartar. This is a hard, yellowish substance that cannot be removed by brushing alone and visibly deteriorates the aesthetics of your smile. A professional teeth cleaning and polishing at your dentist eliminates most of this calculus and stain from your teeth and from beneath the gum line, leaving your teeth whiter, their shapes more defined and the gums a healthier shade of pink. So, before opting for a more expensive cosmetic dental procedure, brush and floss your teeth regularly and go for regular scheduled check-ups and cleanings, and you should be able to keep your smile looking beautiful and white.”

7. A frayed toothbrush is completely ineffective at cleaning your teeth.

“The bristles of your toothbrush should meet your teeth at a 90 degree angle, otherwise they won’t do as good a job of scrubbing the crowns and getting into the gaps between your teeth,” explains the All On 4 implants expert. “If the bristles of the toothbrush are looking a little worn and frayed, it’s time to get a new brush!”

Stay Tuned for Part 3

To read more of the important facts the Manhattan dental implants professional wished patients knew, stay tuned for the third installment of this four-part article series.