Have you lost a tooth due to an accident, aging or disease? Have you cracked and lost a tooth due to eating an apple or (gasp!) opening that jar of mustard or bag of potato chips with your teeth? If so, you're not alone. The average American, age 65 or older, has just 19 remaining teeth, down from the whole set of 28 to 32. Smokers on average have even fewer teeth. But it's not just older people who lose teeth. According to the CDC, 7 percent of the people in the United States have lost at least one permanent tooth by age 17.

With missing teeth, the well-being of your oral health is at stake. The good news is that you don't have to live with this oral health risk any longer. Dental implants are the appropriate solution to replacing a missing tooth or teeth.

So why should you replace your missing tooth or teeth?

To Make Eating Easier:  Missing teeth can hamper your ability to chew and process food in your mouth. Even a single missing tooth disturbs the functionality of your jaw. And a healthy diet consists of a variety of foods, including proteins, vegetables and fruits. The inability to properly chew food will prohibit the absorption of essential nutrients and energy.

Prevent Bone Loss:  When upper and lower teeth come into contact with one another while eating or chewing gum, the jawbone is signaled by this energy to continuously rebuild and regenerate. This stimulation helps to maintain form and bone density. When you have a missing tooth or teeth, there is a lack of stimulation and your jawbone will begin to shrink, your gums will recede and adjoining teeth will become weak.

To Improve the Look of Your Smile: First impressions are an essential part of interpersonal relations. A pleasant, intact smile can help improve the way you are first perceived. As a permanent solution to a missing tooth, a dental implant can improve your smile, help fill out the jaw, and prevent a hollow and sagging appearance. Once a crown or a permanent denture has been fixed on top of implant(s), you'll be all grins again!

To Benefit Your Overall Oral Health: Your oral health will benefit from having missing teeth replaced. Holes and gaps in the gum become breeding grounds for bacteria, making periodontal disease a real concern for patients with missing teeth. Additionally, bacteria like to cling to remaining teeth and around the empty space, causing decay and cavities. 

To Make Sure That Your Speech is Crisp and Clear: Missing teeth and gaps between your teeth can affect your speech, causing slurs and mispronunciations. Choosing dental implants will help clear up any confusion in your speech.

To learn more about replacing those missing teeth that are keeping your smile, oral health and speech from being absolutely perfect, contact Northwest Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Our board-certified surgeons have been helping people improve their smiles and oral health for more than 30 years.