Nobody likes to lose a tooth. It reduces confidence in yourself and your smile, and as an adult, losing teeth can be a very distressing experience. When comparing losing a tooth between a child and an adult, it is always expected within a child because their baby teeth need to come out for adult teeth to begin developing during the adolescent years.
When it comes to adults, when a natural tooth permanently disappears, it disappears for good, and will likely require emergency treatment to remove it if it is inside and is dead (no oxygen or nutrients are reaching the nerve), cosmetic treatment to replace it with a prosthetic and artificial replacement.
You will have been told numerous times by the dentist to avoid certain food and drinks that promotes sugar and perform certain oral routine steps to keep teeth strong and healthy.
Although there are some instances where tooth loss may be unavoidable for other reasons. It is essential to recognise that it may not be solely due to poor oral health.
Below explains further, with the five key reasons for tooth loss.
The Five Reasons
- Poor Eating Habits – What food and drink do you consume on a regular basis? A key reason is poor eating habits, where the foods and drinks you eat comprise sugars and starch that harmful bacteria feed off to cause decay. When teeth decay, cavities (a hole in a tooth) appear, which can progress past your enamel and penetrate to your gums, causing a toothache, sensitivity, and tooth loss.
- Not Performing Your Oral Routine Correctly – This is a factor that doesn’t simply ask the question “are you brushing your teeth?” Instead, it’s asking the question of whether you’re brushing and flossing them correctly. Some people perform all of the important oral hygiene steps, but it’s not being performed correctly. It is essential that if you feel this way, you contact the dentist for further advice.
- Physical Accidents – An accident can happen out of nowhere; it is just bad luck if your mouth is on the receiving end of it. This concern from a traumatic dental injury or through physical contact is very common. Even the best methods to prevent it may not be effective. To reduce the chances, consider wearing a dental mouthguard during physical contact and be extra vigilant with your oral health when out and about.
- Avoidable Habits – Common habits include teeth grinding, a condition that causes harm during sleep as your teeth grind together, resulting in wear and tear. Another is smoking, which is a common cause of tooth loss and increases the chances of losing teeth by almost 3 times.
- General Health Concerns – General health is linked together, and it is common for wider issues to have an impact on oral health. Conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and dementia are signs that can contribute to tooth loss.
If you are unsure about what to do, or you’ve recently experienced tooth loss and are seeking a solution, visit our local dentist Chatswood today. Our dentists are well-equipped and prepared to restore your smiling confidence.
