Your teeth are important to your health and not just because they help you masticate a variety of foods so you can stay nourished and healthy. They are important for other reasons, too. If you lose even one tooth, it can throw off your oral health. Take our quiz, Don’t Burn Your Bridges, below to learn more about why replacing even one lost tooth is important.

True Or False?

True or False: When you are missing a tooth, other teeth may try to shift into that space.

True or False: Your tooth root plays a very important role in the health of your jawbone.

True or False: A dental bridge can replace your crown and keep your teeth from shifting.

Answers:

True: Both the crown and root of your tooth serve special purposes and when they are missing it can cause other problems to develop. One is misalignment. If a tooth is missing, the nearby teeth will naturally begin to shift or lean into the space, leading to a misaligned bite and crooked teeth.

True: When you bite down and chew, the pressure on your root stimulates the flow of important nutrients to that part of your jawbone. When the root of your tooth is lost or removed, so is the flow of nutrients. Therefore, your jawbone begins to lose density and weaken, which can result in further tooth loss, as well as other complications.

True: A dental bridge is an easy way to restore your smile, your bite function, your chewing ability, and to keep your teeth from shifting and becoming crooked. However, the only way to avoid jawbone degradation is implant placement.