Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, is supposed to have said: “Every tooth in a man’s head is worth more than a diamond.”
We do not know what caused this realisation, but the fact is that with the exception of wisdom teeth, he was probably right. When a person loses a tooth, the actual value of that lost diamond is felt in the long run as it can affect overall health in several ways.
Oral hygiene: One of the most significant impact of losing teeth is on your oral health. When you lose a tooth, the gap left behind can cause the surrounding teeth to shift and become misaligned. The resulting awkward gaps and spaces cannot be cleaned effectively and maintaining oral hygiene becomes difficult as it is hard to brush and clean the nooks and gaps (caused by teeth shifting into the free space). This increases the risk of tooth decay and gum disease, causing bad breath. Periodontitis (pyorrhea) is an infection of the gums that can lead to inflammation and has been linked to a number of health problems, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Nutrition: Missing teeth can affect gut health and problems with digesting food, which can lead to malnutrition, indigestion or weight loss. Chewing is a mechanical action that breaks down food into smaller pieces, which makes it easier for your body to digest. If you are unable to chew properly, your body may have difficulty breaking down and absorbing nutrients from your food, leading to malnutrition and other gastrointestinal health problems. A person with missing teeth is likely to consume softer, easier-to-chew foods, which may not provide the same nutritional value as more fibrous, nutrient-rich foods.
Speech: Missing teeth can affect speech, particularly if the missing tooth is in the front of the mouth. Pronunciation of certain words, especially those where the tongue is resting against the back of the upper front teeth (like s/t/d/rl) is badly affected. This is due to air escape and loss of tongue rest on the upper back of the teeth that causes lisping or incomprehensible speech, leading to embarrassment while speaking.
Bone loss: The roots of teeth stimulate the jawbone, which helps to keep it strong and healthy. When a tooth is missing, the jawbone may begin to deteriorate and affect facial appearance. Diminished jaw bones may also preclude future dental implants for artificial tooth reconstruction. Removable dentures to replace these missing teeth may not find enough bone support when this lack of density flattens out the retentive features of the U-jawbone area.
Psychological effects: Having a missing tooth can also have psychological effects, such as low self-esteem and feelings of self-consciousness, affecting impactful social interactions.
Jaw pain: Changes in your bite caused by shifting teeth into the missing space can alter the way your upper and lower teeth fit together (known as your bite). This leads to long-term altered forces on the jaw joint known as the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and pain is felt in front of the ear. Jaw pain usually mimics ear pain and is often misdiagnosed as an ENT condition.
Headaches: Altered bites create magnified forces of chewing and exert unnatural forces on the muscles of chewing, causing frequent headaches, especially around the temples. In some cases, even neck pain may occur. A condition called myofacial pain dysfunction syndrome can occur where majority of the head and neck muscles are sore and affected.
Changes in appearance: A missing tooth can also affect your appearance, as it can change the shape of your face and cause your lips to sink in and give a hollowed look.
Early tooth wear and tear: Nature has given us a full set of teeth to distribute our chewing loads across multiple load-bearing teeth. The loss of any tooth overloads the other teeth and causes faster wear and tear of these teeth, leading to sensitive teeth and further tooth loss. It is imperative that missing teeth (except wisdom teeth) are replaced well in time. The most ideal way to get an artificial fixed tooth is to get a dental implant done at the same time as a dental extraction (this is possible in the majority of cases) and immediate tooth fabrication.
Over the last 50 years, dental implants have a proven track record and safety which has established them as the first choice for replacing any number of missing teeth. Implants are teeth root replacements made of titanium. They are inserted directly into the jawbone and fuse it over time, providing a strong and stable foundation for an artificial tooth.
Another advantage of dental implants is that they do not rely on the support of surrounding teeth, as bridges do. This means that healthy teeth do not need to be altered, which is beneficial as it avoids damaging natural teeth.
Removable dentures are unstable and do not provide the comfort of implants. Their chewing efficiency is less than a fourth of that of natural teeth whereas implants offer near-normal biting strength. However, implants require high precision and expertise to perform.
Ther advantages of using dental implants over bridges are as follows.
Durability: Dental implants are very strong and can last for many years with proper care. They are less prone to breaking or needing repair than other methods.
Functionality: Dental implants feel and function just like natural teeth, so you can eat and speak normally without any difficulty. Dentures, on the other hand, can feel awkward or uncomfortable and will not function as well as natural teeth.
Comfort: Dental implants are more comfortable because they don’t rely on adjacent teeth for support. This can be especially important for people who have sensitive teeth or gum tissue. Since they do not exert extra stress on the nearby teeth, health of the adjacent teeth is maintained and the risk of future oral health problems is minimised.
Aesthetics: Dental implants look and feel more natural as they are designed to blend in with your existing teeth. Jawbone preservation is one of the major reasons of this improved function and aesthetics.
Author is an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon with a special focus on advanced dental and maxillofacial implantology. He is the director ofAesthetica - Advanced Dental and implant clinic at Vasundhara, 2/7 Sarat Bose Road, Calcutta. He can bereached at 9830183000,drkamleshkothari@gmail.comor www.aesthetica.co.in