Missing Teeth Can Change Your Life
Houston, TX
People are living longer and enjoying life more today than in decades past. Additionally, we have greater knowledge and education on many topics, including dentistry. The claim that missing teeth can change your life, may seem bold but there are some serious impacts that occur simply from missing teeth. Our team at Alexandra Garcia, DDS, MS can provide you personalized information about your missing tooth, or teeth, the impact it can have, and options to restore. We want you to have joy in your life, and having a healthy smile plays a role in being joyful. 
Whether you are missing one tooth, or many, missing teeth can cause problems. Some of these problems can include:
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Changes to Your Bite: Missing teeth leaves room on your gum ridge, leaving room for neighboring teeth to roam. Some patients question if this may be a good thing, helping to alleviate overcrowding, but since the movement is uncontrolled, it’s rarely in your favor.
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Changes how you Chew: Our mouth is designed to chew and break down food in a balanced manner. Ideally we chew evenly across our teeth for the wear to our teeth is balanced. A missing tooth throws off this balance, and we will naturally start favoring teeth away from the missing tooth and chew unevenly. This is sometimes referred to as chewing on the other side. Uneven chewing causes an imbalance in how we chew and uneven wear.
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Changes in your Diet: People with missing teeth often make changes to their diet, eliminating foods they normally eat. This may include certain proteins such as meats and nuts. In general, dieticians agree that we should maintain our regular diet for optimum health. We may want to reduce fats and sugars, but maintaining the same vitamins, nutrients, and proteins is best.
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Changes to your Facial Shape: One of the first reactions that occurs following the loss of a tooth is a loss of bone mass where the tooth once was. The loss of one tooth may not make a visible difference in our facial shape, but the loss of multiple teeth will. The facial bone structure will be noticeably smaller. Many assume that this smaller facial structure is a sign of older age, but it is actually due to a loss of teeth. Maintaining a fuller face will help you look younger.
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Changes in your Speech: Our speech is developed with the presence of our tongue and teeth. We use our tongue and teeth to make a wide variety of sounds. Missing teeth, or shifted teeth due to missing teeth, will cause changes to these sounds or even make them impossible. A common complaint from patients with multiple missing teeth is the loss of sounds in their speech. It is a source of embarrassment. |
Options for Teeth Replacement
Today, there are multiple options in teeth replacement. Restoration is recommended for both health and aesthetic reasons. We can discuss the use of dental prosthetics both with and without the use of dental implants to rebuild and restore missing teeth.
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