If you have missing teeth, then you likely already know how they affect your daily life. You may struggle to eat or feel self-conscious, but they do more than this. Your overall health can also be impacted over time. So, if you’ve been considering replacing them with dental implants, then you can add years to your life. Here’s how tooth loss can affect your well-being and how this treatment can support you.
How Do Missing Teeth Affect Your Health?
One thing that many people with missing teeth struggle with is a balanced diet. Certain items can be more of a headache to eat, like raw vegetables, nuts, and lean proteins. You may choose softer, processed foods more often, since they don’t cause much trouble.
However, this change can contribute to systemic health conditions down the line. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline are a few that you may be at a higher risk of by not giving your body the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
Not only that, but recent studies have also linked tooth loss with increased inflammation in your body. This then opens another can of worms, as it affects your immune system greatly. Your jawbone will also weaken over time in a process known as resorption. The minerals in the bone will be taken to use elsewhere, changing your facial structure, bite function, and your overall smile.
So, Can Dental Implants Support Your Health?
Each of the points above can be worrying, but dental implants are the only tooth replacement option that can help you with each one. A post is placed and fused to your jawbone, using it as a foundation to give you up to 90% of your bite back. That means you’ll have a much easier time digging into your favorite foods and enjoy a more varied diet. You’ll give yourself the vitamins and nutrients you need.
This will also preserve your jawbone. Pressure from eating will be sent down the fixture and the bone. Your body will take these signals and understand you’re still using your jaw, preserving the structure in the long run compared to other treatments, like dentures.
So, by getting dental implants, you can very well protect your overall health and keep it in great shape. That way, you can get back to flaunting a full smile that helps you feel your best.
About the Author
Dr. Gus Bal earned his dental degree from Boston University’s Goldman School of Dental Medicine. He then completed an Implant Dentistry fellowship at New York University. This allows him to complete the entire dental implant process in-house, so you stay with him and his team every step of the way. If you have any questions about this tooth replacement, schedule an appointment or call his office at 613-727-0990.