Oral health is a big concern to many people, and rightfully so. Maintaining your oral health will not only help you prevent cavities, brighten your teeth and eliminate bad breath, it can also prevent tooth loss. Although your parents probably told you to stop eating sweets or your teeth would fall out, in reality, there are a number of things that can lead to tooth loss and some are more common than others. In this blog, we’re going to talk about some of the most common causes of tooth loss and what you can do to prevent it.
Poor oral hygiene
There’s a reason everyone tells you to brush and floss all the time — it prevents tooth loss! What most people don’t understand is that it doesn’t take that much time or effort to maintain a proper oral health routine. When you brush, just make sure to cover all of your teeth and avoid scrubbing your gums too hard because this can lead to other problems. Scrubbing too hard on your teeth can also cause damage to your enamel.
Contrary to popular belief, flossing shouldn’t be considered second to brushing, both brushing flossing are crucial for your oral health.
Gum disease
Gum disease (periodontal disease) is a major cause of tooth loss around the world. Although poor oral hygiene can increase your risk of gum disease, there are many other causes such as tobacco, poor diet, stress, and genetics may play a role. Speak with a dentist or periodontist to see what you can do to protect your gums and prevent gum disease.
Trauma
Physical trauma to your mouth or jaw can lead to tooth loss. The problem with trauma to the mouth is that it’s not always immediately evident how severe the issue is. You may experience bruising or bleeding but just shake it off, thinking it’s not a big deal. A good rule of thumb is to treat all injuries to the mouth as serious until speaking with a dental specialist. If there is injury underneath the gums where it’s not visible to you, it could lead to gum disease and later to tooth loss. A periodontist may suggest having the tooth extracted and replacing it with a dental implant.
Cavities
Eating too many sweets isn’t the only cause of tooth loss, but it’s certainly one of them. Cavities aren’t a huge issue as long as they’re treated quickly. And since cavities are a form of tooth decay, they can eventually lead to tooth loss. Make sure you’re visiting the dentist regularly in order to stop cavities before they become a huge problem.
Poor nutrition
You need to maintain a well-balanced diet in order to prevent tooth loss. Nutrients that boost your immune system are great for fighting infections that could start in your gums. If you have any specific concerns about how your diet affects your oral health, speak with a dentist.
Smoking
Believe it or not, smoking poses a serious risk to your oral health, not to mention every other part of your body. Studies have shown that people who smoke are significantly more likely to lose teeth at some point in their life. No amount of brushing will save your teeth from the threat that smoking causes to them. Please quit smoking!
Missing teeth
Yes, missing teeth can cause you to lose more teeth! Bone growth in your jaw is stimulated through the act of chewing and pressure put on the area by a tooth. So, if there’s no tooth there to stimulate bone growth, you’ll start losing bone! This not only means that it will be harder to get an implant the longer you wait, but the bone loss could be significant enough that you lose the surrounding teeth.
Contact Pacific Northwest
Are you missing a tooth or multiple teeth and aren’t sure what steps you should take to fix the issue? Your first step should be to call your local Seattle periodontists at Pacific Northwest. We are able to replace individual teeth, multiple teeth, or a full bridge all-on-four dental implant. It’s important that you get your teeth replaced as soon as possible after they’re lost so it doesn’t lead to further bone loss.
