Most redneck characters will have a missing tooth or two and it adds to their character. For the rest of us, missing teeth are a cause of embarrassment, shame, and self-consciousness. Causes of tooth loss:
- Accident-tooth is knocked out or severely damaged
- Decay-tooth will fall out on own or need to be pulled
- Gun disease-gum no longer can support tooth
Missing teeth not only detract from beauty, but can impact a person’s life in the following ways:
- Can lead to changes in speech
- affect self-confidence
- When the gap is left there for long enough, the neighboring teeth can start to migrate from their proper positions, creating misalignment of the teeth, change your bite, which can in turn lead to gum disease, and bite problems and headaches.
- When teeth are lost for a long time, the area of the jawbone starts to erode where the tooth was.
- Over time, you can lose so much bone that your jaw will need a bone graft to build up the bone in your jaw to place implants or make a denture that fits properly.
- Tooth loss affects how well you chew and what food you are able to eat.
- Inability to chew properly can lead to poor nutrition, which can affect overall health.
The best thing to do is to prevent the loss of teeth in the first place with proper care of teeth and gums. Accidental loss can be prevented by the use of mouth protectors.
