While you may not pay much heed to losing a tooth as an adult, there can be serious repercussions if you don’t. Implants are the best and most permanent way to replace a missing tooth. They perform and look just like your natural dentition, are just as stable, and can last a good 20 years, sometimes more. An implant isn’t only to restore the esthetics of your smile and the function of your bite. There are other reasons to choose an implant.

The Consequences of Losing a Tooth

Everything has a consequence. It may be a good consequence or a bad one. There may be one consequence or there may be several. The consequences to losing a tooth include the following:

Crooked Teeth: When you lose a tooth your adjacent teeth naturally try to fill the empty space. They may lean, shift, or tilt. When that happens you may develop a bad bite, or malocclusion, which can lead to bruxing, abnormally worn teeth, and TMJ. These are reasons that you want to fill the space as soon as possible with a permanent dental implant.

Jaw Bone Deterioration: Another reason for choosing an implant is that when you lose a tooth, your body automatically stops supplying important nutrients to the underlying jawbone, nutrients that help keep the bone healthy and strong. Such nutrients include phosphate and calcium. Without these your jaw bone, in the area of the missing tooth, will begin to die, atrophy, or dissolve. If you do not have an implant procedure before this happens, deciding on an implant procedure at a later date may require a bone graft to restore the bone to health before performing an implant procedure.