Sometimes our doctors need to inform our dental patients that they have a tooth or teeth that need to be extracted. When tooth extraction is required, we recommend that the patient replace the tooth with dental implants. These built-to-be-permanent tooth replacement systems are the most state-of-the-art option on the dental market and provide significant benefits of older options such as dental bridges. To help you understand the importance of choosing dental implants, It’s appropriate to mention 3 consequences of not addressing extracted or missing teeth.
1. Lost Biting, Chewing and Eating Functionality
Our teeth are designed to help us bite, chew and eat the foods we choose to consume. In fact, our mouths are designed with different teeth for different biting functions! The loss of a tooth due to tooth extraction can make it more difficult for you to enjoy your favorite foods. And depending on the location of where in your mouth your tooth is extracted, it can make eating certain foods downright impossible. Patients are often pleasantly surprised to learn that dental implants are considered the best tooth replacement system for restoring biting functionality. Because these implants are secured into the jawbone with a titanium rod and then covered with a realistic looking tooth crown, dental implants offer more tooth functionality than any other tooth replacement system on the market. In fact, most patients have no eating restrictions with their dental implants.
2. Potential for Jaw Bone Loss and Additional Tooth Loss
Our teeth do more than just help us eat. Our doctors often find that our patients are surprised to learn that tooth roots actually stimulate the growth of jaw bone tissue. When a tooth needs to be extracted for a medical reason, the jaw bone stimulation is lost. This could result in jaw bone tissue resorption, and could even lead to you losing additional adjacent teeth. While bridges or dentures can restore some tooth functionality, they don’t insert anything into the jawbone. Dental implants do, however, which helps to stimulate jaw bone growth. They’re clearly the best option for our dental patients’ overall oral health.
3. Loss of Your Beautiful Smile
Some of our patients are devastated to learn they need a tooth extracted because they don’t want to lose their beautiful smile. We may be able to help using dental implants. Because dental implants use realistic-looking tooth crowns, they are basically indistinguishable from natural teeth. You can even have multiple natural teeth extracted and replaced with dental implants, and the people you flash your pearly whites to will be none the wiser!
Learning More About Tooth Extractions and Dental Implants
Many patients feel nervous when they find out they need oral surgery to extract a tooth that is non-functional or diseased. We understand why. Many people have dental anxiety, and in fact, many of our tooth extraction patients have never undergone any type of surgery in their lives. We’re here to tell you that extracting a tooth that is no longer safe for your mouth is the right decision, and choosing dental implants to replace extracted teeth is the most recommended option in the dental community. If you have questions about tooth extractions and dental implants, please contact our office today at (817) 731-2789.