Missing teeth tends to be the most common reason that people need restorative dentistry. When you consider oral health, the common consensus is to preserve your natural teeth for as long as possible. However, if you have teeth that are bad or missing, you may be exacerbating an existing dental health issue.
The space left behind from a missing tooth needs to be filled to avoid teeth drifting. Teeth drifting refers to your teeth migrating to open spaces left behind by a missing tooth. To compensate, the adjacent teeth will begin to shift and grow in a crooked manner to fill the space. What results are crooked teeth that are difficult to clean and care for which can result in further tooth loss, gum disease and other oral health issues.
A dental implant can fix the problem by filling in the empty space. Although this may not be your natural tooth, it does help keep the rest of your teeth healthy, since decay will not be present once the tooth is extracted and replaced with an implant. Implants help to fill in any gaps as well, and this is important since the closed gaps will protect other teeth that are vulnerable to bacteria and plaque.
If you have missing, loose, damaged or painful teeth call us today at 281-681-9600 to schedule a consultation. Don’t let a simple thing like a missing tooth turn into something more threatening to your oral health and wellness.