We know that many people choose to postpone dental work. There are many reasons people give for putting it off, such as it not being in the budget right now, it’s not convenient, or they just don’t think it’s a priority.
However, if you have chipped, cracked, or missing teeth, there are good reasons to move reconstructive dentistry up in your “to do” list. Here are some of what you can accomplish by getting reconstructive dentistry now, rather than waiting.
Protect Your Other Teeth
If you have one or more broken or missing teeth, you might be putting your other teeth at risk by not repairing or replacing them. Your teeth are set up to work as a team, dividing the work of biting and chewing among them. When teeth are missing or broken in a way that they can’t bear the weight of biting, other teeth have to bear the extra force, which can cause them to break as well.
It’s worse when you are missing teeth, as this allows teeth to drift and tilt. Tilted teeth take bite force in directions where they are weaker, making them more likely to break.
By postponing reconstructive dentistry, you are making it more likely that you will see more tooth damage and potentially even lose more teeth.
Avoid TMJ
As your teeth are supposed to work together, your jaw is a number of interlocking systems that have to balance harmoniously for healthy function. When you’re missing teeth or have damaged teeth that can’t make proper spacing, the balance between the parts of the jaw can get thrown off. This can lead to a condition called temporomandibular joint disorders (abbreviated TMJ or TMD).
In TMJ, the imbalance between the parts of the jaw system can lead to symptoms like jaw pain, headaches, earaches, ringing in the ears, vertigo, and more. Over time, the imbalance can lead to the breakdown of the jaw joint. You might experience jaw sounds and irregular movement first, followed by grinding in the joint, and locking of the jaw joint.
Protect Your Overall Health
But TMJ isn’t the only impact of missing and broken teeth that can affect more of the body. Missing teeth and drifting teeth can make it hard to clean your teeth well, increasing your risk of gum disease. Gum disease can lead to further tooth loss. It has been linked with a higher risk of conditions like heart disease, stroke, autoimmune disorders, dementia, and potentially even cancer.
Broken teeth are also ripe for infection by oral bacteria. An infected tooth can cause deadly complications as infection can spread to the blood, the sinuses, even the brain. Left untreated, bacteria from an infected tooth can travel to the heart, increasing your risk of heart disease still further.
Infected teeth and gums sometimes give few symptoms, so unless you’re paying close attention, these dangerous infections can grow unnoticed, leading to more serious cases in the future.
Having broken or missing teeth can cause you to chew ineffectively, which will lead to poorly chewed food being swallowed. This can make you more likely to choke, can cause digestive problems, and make it so you don’t get full nutritional value out of your food.
Save Money
As you can see, there are many progressive effects that can develop from postponing reconstructive dentistry. And although these effects are diverse, they have one thing in common: they can be expensive to treat.
Getting reconstructive dentistry now can head off all these complications, saving you significant expenses in the future.
Enjoy a Higher Quality of Life
But it isn’t just money that you’ll save by taking care of damaged or missing teeth with reconstructive dentistry. You’ll be able to enjoy your life more fully. You can smile with confidence, enjoy the foods that make you happy, and have good health that is the foundation of every good thing in life.
The more joyful moments you will enjoy as a result of getting reconstructive dentistry now are truly priceless. There is no reason to keep suffering with broken or missing teeth, when there is a solution available now that will help you live life to the fullest.
You Don’t Have to Put Off Reconstructive Dentistry in Southlake
If you have damaged or missing teeth, you might think you can’t get reconstructive dentistry, but we have options that can help. If money is an obstacle, we offer dental financing that can help you pay for reconstructive dentistry on terms that are more affordable for you. Financing costs are typically low and probably much less than the financial benefits of not putting off treatment.
We can also divide the procedure up into manageable chunks that can fit in your schedule and your budget.
To learn how a reconstructive dentist at StarImage Dental Boutique can help you, please call (817) 587-4566 or use our online form to schedule an appointment at our office in Southlake, TX.
