You can lose your teeth for a number of reasons, including gum disease, birth defects, tooth decay, and other health problems. Gum disease is the primary cause of tooth loss among adults. If you notice your teeth are becoming loose or are shifting, you must seek treatment as soon as possible. When you have a tooth extraction, you need to replace the tooth as soon as possible to avoid jaw bone loss and movement of surrounding teeth.

If your teeth are not aligned properly due to tooth loss, you may have difficulty chewing certain types of foods and need to limit your diet to softer foods. This can cause nutritional deficiencies that lead to health problems such as weight loss, arthritis, constipation, and indigestion.

Missing teeth can affect your speech because you need your teeth to make certain letter sounds. Some people develop a lisp when they are missing teeth and the tongue can also be affected when missing teeth create large spaces in the mouth.

Your teeth stimulate the bone in the jaw and the bone is stimulated every time you chew food. Without natural stimulation, the jaw bone can start to deteriorate and will be resorbed by the body. Bone deterioration can cause a number of problems including loss of facial structure. If you have significant bone loss after a tooth extraction or a missing tooth, you may need to undergo a bone graft before any type of tooth replacement procedure can be performed.

Today’s advances in dentistry can treat gum disease and prevent tooth loss. Schedule your consultation in Merced, CA with Dr. Trujillo today!