A local dentist in Peachtree City, GA, wants you to know about various and interrelated harmful repercussions of missing teeth. Missing teeth will leave gaps in your smile that affect your confidence and can have emotional effects if left unaddressed.
Your speaking voice may be the most noticeable alteration right away. Depending on the location and scope of your missing teeth, you may encounter speech blunders and oddities, such as whistling. Inevitably, your chewing habits will be altered as well.
Short-Term Consequences on the Jaw
Patients with missing teeth frequently experience discomfort and sometimes stiffness in the jaw on the side opposite the gap. Overcompensation causes this, leading to major long-term complications, including TMJ. Consider how the skin surrounding your mouth and cheeks rests on your teeth; without that support in important places, your skin will begin to sag and age your face until the dentist office replaces your missing teeth.
Long-Term Issues to the Jaw
Bone loss is one of the long-term effects of losing teeth that your Local Dentist In Peachtree City, GA, wants you to consider. Missing teeth most commonly cause jawbone loss. Because your teeth and jaw are virtually one unit, the two go hand in hand. Your jawbone needs frequent and diverse stimulation from your teeth — your trademark bite – to stay strong and healthy.
Allowing bite irregularities to remain will almost certainly result in discomfort in the teeth, gums, and jaw. A cascade shift in your bite can result in headaches, neck and back discomfort, other muscular pain, and irreversible damage to the jaw joint.
