7 Reasons: Why You Should Not Ignore Missing Teeth

There are many reasons why people lose more than one tooth, such as illness, an accident or simply inheriting poor teeth. Each tooth plays a critical role in your oral health & this can have a serious impact on your quality of life. 

Unfortunately in India not many people realize it until they are in their 40's.

Below are the 7 problems that can result when a missing tooth is ignored.

1.You can’t chew well which can lead to digestive difficulty affecting your overall health; also you might have to avoid some of your favorite foods.

2.You can actually start to look old; once you start losing teeth, physical changes to the face are a frequent result. 

3.There is loss of self-esteem if the missing tooth’s space is visible when you talk or smile. 

4.The teeth on either side of the missing tooth will tilt & drift into the missing tooth’s space making them prone to decay & gum diseases.

5.Missing tooth changes the alignment causes changes in chewing patterns and resulting in tooth wear

6.During mastication; pressure is applied on jawbones and teeth which stimulate bone growth. A missing tooth causes the jawbone to shrink because the bone is no longer stimulated during chewing. Bone loss can result and cause further tooth and jaw problems.

7.Sometimes missing tooth might leave behind a unhealed wound where food particles might deposited and may resulting in bad breath.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO FIX A MISSING TOOTH?

You can have a fixed replacement made such as Implant, Bridge (crowns), a combination of Implants & Bridges or a Dental Implant Over-denture

You also have a choice of removable replacement a removable partial denture. Dentures cost less than a fixed replacement. 

Call Arya’s Dental Clinic today to schedule your appointment.  

Healthier Teeth - Well.....STRINGS ATTACHED

At the end of every scaling ( cleaning appointment) we usually take out time to talk to the patient about oral hygiene. Ask about their technique - correct it - recommend stuff etc.

The one question we invariably get is - DO I NEED TO FLOSS? (We shall not even go into the 'Floss? What's floss?' category of patients)

Contradictory to the answer we give when the patient asks about using mouthwashes (which is it varies patient to patient) - the answer to this question is YES YES and YES.

If you can and are willing - Do IT.

Why you ask?

We lets just take an example to understand this.

You have a bed at home. You clean on top of it. You clean the sides of it. However the bed is rather low and you cannot get under the bed and hence the underside is left as it is. Now being good quality wood and all - maybe it may never really get ruined. But suppose there was a leak - water got into the room and under the bed as well. Now don't you move that bed so that you can dry the floor beneath ? Better still don't you empty it out and take it outside perhaps so that you could dry the underside of the bed itself? 

Of course you would - given that you don't want fungus growing out the bed. 

Now our teeth have 5 sides as well - and though with meticulous brushing we can clean 3 of them - 2 sides are like the underside of the bed. While nothing much accumulates there most days ( if you have really really tight contacts) - there is always the risk. 

It would be lovely to get those teeth out - wash them in the sink and put them back. But since that isn't happening anytime soon ( unless of course you prefer dentures) - we have to make do with what is available to clean out those surfaces.

Food does get stuck between teeth - even if its not a big chunk - it will be a thin almost transparent layer. Moreover when we are young contacts between teeth are tighter. As we age teeth start collecting more and more food particles making flossing all the more essential. 

Yes it is inconvenient ( but you get used to it)

Yes it is time consuming ( But you get faster with regular use)

Yes it involves putting your fingers in the mouth ( But you can always use those floss handles)

But given that it decreases your trips to the dentist - what more motivation could you possibly want?

There are a zillion different types out there - choose any one based on your convenience and budget.

Use it everyday, once a day. Here's How -How to floss your teeth

Or ask your dentist for a demonstration of the correct technique. 

For those of you who find the regular floss too tedious and inconvenient there are now a multitude of water flossers available - these can be hand held portable devices or even table top devices. You can read more about water flossers and the options available here - Top Water Flossers in India

You can check the technique of how to use the water flosser on this link How to use a water flosser

For more information contact Dr Arya aryasdentalclinic.com

Bad breath - the worst PR manager!!

Have you tried in vain to keep a straight face while your Boss is 'killing you softly' with his breath which smells of rotten eggs?

Or you have decided to go without kissing your spouse rather than rock the marital boat by telling him/her that they smell like a chemical experiment gone terribly wrong ?

Have you been at the receiving end or worse still - are you the perpetrator of the crime ?



Frankly - it may not be your fault at all.  You probably haven't had the opportunity to be educated about the possibilities of treatment. Bad breath is a condition just like any other disease - its cause requires to be diagnosed properly and treated accordingly.

People's perception of bad breath have made mouthwash and chewing gum companies - multi multi billionaires!!!  Even toothpaste companies advertisements focus on propagating the 'fresh breath' aspect rather than the clean teeth bit! Unfortunately - most mouthwashes and mints are only cosmetic and not therapeutic. Simply put - they will only mask your bad odor and not eliminate the cause. Since they are only masking the odor - they act much like the foundation and cosmetics on skin - it only masks the blemishes underneath and does not get rid of them.

So what really causes bad mouth odor???

The causes are divided between those to be found in the mouth and those that are extra oral.

The intra Oral causes are:

1. poor oral hygiene
2. Deposits on the teeth
3. Deep cavities in your teeth which act as a food trap
4. Coated tongues ( when you do not clean your tongue everyday)
5. Gum disease
6. Dry mouth 
7. Dentures

The causes of bad odor that is extra oral ( rest of the body) are:

1. Throat infections and colds
2. Sinusitis/tonsillitis
3. Lung diseases
4. Some liver and kidney diseases
5. diabetes
6. A few other systemic conditions


The above are just some of the causes. There are more. Almost all of the causes within the mouth can be treated and most of those outside the mouth too.

Sometimes all you will require is a professional tooth cleaning ( scaling), correct toothbrushing technique demonstration and a nudge to take better care of your dental health. Do you think it makes sense to suffer a lifetime of self consciousness just because you are scared/ashamed or hesitant to get professional help from a dentist ?

And even if you need more treatment than the above because the cause is more complicated - wouldn't you want to know?

Bad breath is a deal breaker. Why keep it so close to you at the cost of you losing potential relationships, being made fun of by friends,  or maybe even be passed up for a promotion?

Bad Breath is much like body odor - it is an instant turn off. So instead - you can turn bad breath off. 

Find the cause and eliminate it. And maybe then - like those ads on TV - you could make a heart on the fresh breath that you blow onto a glass window when you see the love of your life :) 


www.aryasdentalclinic.com