I am proud to say that I have all my own teeth at the age of 65. While that may not sound unusual to some people, everyone in my family who is my age or older wears dentures. I always tell people that that flossing is the key to good dental health. I have arthritis in my hands, but I don't let it keep me from flossing every day. My trick is to use those little "flossers" you can buy at the drug store. They have plastic handles floss stretched out on top of the handle. These make flossing easier on days when my arthritis is acting up. I started this blog to let other people know that they can keep their teeth healthy into old age when they take care of them. If you have hand pain, find ways to make flossing easier, like I did.
Don't Let Hand Pain Keep You from Flossing
Are You Missing Out? What To Know About Missing Teeth
Francis Miles
You might be surprised about the scope of problems associated with missing teeth. Naturally, a gap in your front teeth can make you more hesitant to smile, but those with missing teeth in the back also can suffer from some or all of the below problems. To help you better understand just how bad a missing tooth can be, read on.
It Zaps Your Self-confidence – Missing teeth have some negative socioeconomic stereotypes. Those include:
- You are too poor to afford dental care.
- You don't care about your appearance.
- You are addicted to drugs that can cause teeth loss.
- You lack good dental hygiene and therefore you might also have body odors.
The real reasons can include medical conditions, medication side-effects, sports or other injuries, dental procedure anxiety, lack of dental coverage, and more. Unfortunately, missing teeth can create a domino effect that can make matters even worse. For example, if you are embarrassed about the state of your teeth, you may isolate yourself from others and lose those important social connections that make life more enjoyable. Additionally, you might even be reluctant to apply for a job and thus you begin to suffer from economic losses as a result.
It Puts Your Teeth in Motion – You don't want to envision your teeth as they begin to loosen. Loose teeth invite periodontal diseases and decay. Even a fake tooth to fill in the spot prevents the devastating bone loss that can occur when your body perceives a space where a tooth should be. Unfortunately, the bone loss precipitated by a missing tooth can also make you appear years older than you really are as the jaw area begins to sag southward.
It Creates Chewing and Speaking Problems – The main function of teeth is to masticate food and get it ready to be easily swallowed before it begins the internal digestive process. Missing teeth can interfere with those actions to the degree that food is swallowed in larger chunks than is healthy or safe. Additionally, missing teeth can cause the sufferer to chew using only certain teeth or only one side of the mouth. Eventually, those teeth will show signs of advanced wear and you may experience pain when trying to chew. You also depend on your teeth to help you form words correctly. Missing teeth can result in a change in speech and an unintended lisp.
Solutions for Missing Teeth
There are surprisingly simple ways to address and rectify all of the above. Dentures, bridges, and implants present options for every budget. These three solutions not only improve your appearance but stand in for your natural tooth in a way that your body recognizes as a real tooth, stopping bone loss in its tracks. If you want to find out more and restore your smile, try these guys.
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