Next up on the topic of implants: the facts behind tooth loss and tooth replacement.

Now, being behind the dental wall and working with patients on their options, it generally comes down to how much does it cost and how much does insurance cover. What people don’t think about on tooth replacement is: it’s just like replacing a limb when you lose it. For example, you lose your leg in an accident. No leg there anymore, this could really affect your mobility. You’ll either be using a wheel chair or crutches for a very long time. From what I’ve been told, crutches are terrible and hurt your armpits after using them for a while. Who needs that hassle? A wheel chair also works, but sometimes it’s really hard to move yourself around in a wheel chair so you rely on others to help get you around.

So, what are your options? Next up is a prosthetic limb. These are so interesting, they are custom made to the person’s leg and they can learn to walk on their own again and have more mobility. Is it the same as their real leg? Nope, it never will be. There will be times where it hurts to walk with it on, you have to go back and get new ones made, if you gain or lose weight it doesn’t fit quite as well. There’s a whole list of troubles with a replacement limb.

How does this relate to your teeth? Well, false teeth are the same thing as a prosthetic leg. They’re just created for your mouth. You can’t eat properly without it, the chewing motion of your mouth just doesn’t work as well without a full mouth of teeth. Your other teeth suffer if you leave the space where your tooth was. I have personally watched it in friends of mine. They lose some of their back teeth, and the next thing you know their front teeth are chipping and cracking and wearing out because they have no other options but to chew with their front teeth. Or they start getting a “snaggle tooth” look because all of their teeth are shifting to cover the hole that was left by losing a tooth.

Obviously it’s best to get dental care for your tooth before it comes to this. But sometimes it can’t be avoided. Replacing the tooth can be a bit of an expense, and it can be an unexpected expense. What are your options? I will be covering this in more detail in the next blog!