If you haven’t lost any teeth, but have older family members who have, then you may worry whether you’re destined to experience tooth loss at some point in the future. However, the truth is that tooth loss isn’t always inevitable, even if you have a family history of it. At our Columbia, TN, dental office, our goal is to help you preserve your healthy, natural smile for life, and that includes understanding and controlling your risks of tooth loss. With the right knowledge, care, and maintenance, you have a much better chance of avoiding it for life.
The common risk factors for tooth loss
Some risks that lead to tooth loss are common. For example, if you develop gum disease – the most common cause of tooth loss – then you’re increasingly more likely to lose teeth the longer it’s left untreated. Gum disease erodes the gums and jawbone that support your teeth, and in severe cases, it can cause one or more teeth to fall out or require extraction. In addition to gum disease, other risk factors for tooth loss include untreated dental trauma (i.e., fractured or broken tooth), extreme tooth decay, and more.
How you can lower those risks
Lowering your risks of tooth loss means lowering your risks, or controlling the existence, of the issues that cause it. If you have gum disease, then treating and managing it as soon as possible is the best way to mitigate the risk of it leading to tooth loss. The best way to catch and treat gum disease early is to keep up with good hygiene at home, including brushing twice and flossing at least once every day. Also, attending a dental checkup and cleaning on a routine basis will give your dentist the chance to spot the signs of gum disease early and recommend treatment before it grows more severe.
In case you can’t prevent tooth loss
If you’re already at a high risk of tooth loss, or have already experienced it, then you can still restore your smile and reduce your risks of losing more teeth by replacing them with a custom restoration. By replacing your lost teeth with a highly lifelike, custom-designed restoration, you can rebuild your smile’s appearance as well as your bite’s function and support for your remaining teeth.
Learn more about your risks of tooth loss
Not everyone is destined to experience tooth loss. If you know your risk factors for it, you may have a good chance at preventing it. To schedule an appointment, call Creekside Family Dental Care in Columbia, TN, today at (931) 388–3384.