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

Open mouths- Closed Minds

I find people are more open minded when visiting beauty parlors than when visiting dentists. 

Sample two conversations :

 Conversation1 :

Beautician: Madam your hair looks dry which can increase hair fall- I suggest you go in for a hair spa treatment.

Lady: Really? Ok – sure. Can we do the first sitting today?

Conversation 2: 

Dentist: Madam you teeth have a lot of stains and tartar which can affect the health of your gums and can cause your teeth to loosen in the long run. I suggest you get a teeth cleaning done.

Lady: Really? But …errrr….no…not now. Anyway I have heard that scaling and polishing causes the enamel to be rubbed off. And it is painful. and it will take long.

  

The list of excuses goes on….

How come we are so closed minded with regard to dental treatment when we are so open minded to everything else.

We color our hair to look younger and do not worry about chemicals.

We apply a million fairness creams and do not worry about side effects. 

We get liposuction done without worrying about morbidity.

And yet – keeping our mouths clean and disease free is fraught with danger? 

If you trust your dentist and he/she is known to be an ethical person then program yourself to get over random newspaper/internet articles which many a time can be misleading without knowing the entire story.

In this age of information overdose it is necessary to sift through the truth, the half truths and the outright lies. Remember – most information on the internet is company/profit driven. (Maybe even this article:))

But make informed decisions based on more than just one piece of information.  Talk to other educated people and and maybe even get a second opinion from another dentist. If everything coincides – maybe you do need that treatment as much or more than you need that hair spa. 

Just because dentists don’t put up hoardings about shiny teeth like the hair salons who put up models with beautiful hair – doesn’t mean that dental care is less important. 

Once last thing – all those hoardings of models with long flowing hair and glowing skin – are they grumpy? Or are they smiling showing their pearly whites?  Well – there is your Advertisement for beautiful teeth. 

Know more at www.aryasdentalcare.com

or email us at draryasclinic@gmail.com