Visiting your dentist regularly, brushing and flossing, and eating well are all helpful if you want to have a healthy and appealing smile. Unfortunately, issues may still arise, affecting your mouth, teeth, and gums in a negative way. While surprising to learn, an estimated 120 million people in the United States are missing at least one tooth. This tooth loss may have occurred via an injury or an underlying dental condition, such as decay or gum disease. No matter how the tooth loss occurred, restoring your smile is possible with dental implants. With this guide, you will understand the benefits of implant dentistry for your health and wellness.

Protects Oral Health

Your teeth act as a foundation for other teeth. Therefore, when you lose one tooth, the other teeth left in your mouth will be affected in some manner.

Once a tooth is lost, an open space is left behind. Nearby teeth will begin to shift, tilting into this space or moving towards the space. This can loosen teeth and, eventually, result in the loss of even more teeth.

Of course, the shifting of teeth left behind in your mouth after the loss of another tooth can also affect alignment. Your bite alignment may become off-kilter, which can increase the risk of jaw pain. Also, misaligned teeth will place force on adjacent teeth, wearing down tooth enamel, which can lead to cavities and decay.

Crooked or misaligned teeth can also be more difficult to brush and floss. Because of this, food particles, plaque, and bacteria will be more likely to build up on your teeth and gums, which can lead to decay and gum disease.

By filling in the open spaces with dental implants, you can reduce your risk of further dental problems.

Reduces Risk of Jaw Atrophy

In most cases, tooth loss involves the loss of both a tooth and its attached roots. Once the tooth and the roots are lost from the mouth and jaw, the roots will no longer be able to stimulate the bone. Without this stimulation, the bone will no longer grow, which can cause the jaw to deteriorate.

Known as atrophy, the loss of bone after you lose teeth can change the entire shape of your jaw. This atrophy can cause your jaw to appear sunken in and older no matter what your age is. This deterioration of bone in the jaw can also affect the remaining teeth in your mouth. Without strong, healthy bone, teeth may become loose and eventually fall out.

Dental implants are surgically placed into the actual bone of your jaw, creating the stimulation your bone needs to remain healthy.

Improves Nutrition

Another way dental implants can benefit your health and wellness is by improving your ability to eat nutritious food.

Chewing meats and certain fruits and vegetables can be difficult without a full set of teeth. You may not be able to chew and eat pieces of steak, chicken, and pork, which will affect your intake of protein. In addition, biting and chewing apples, pears, celery, and other foods can be problematic if you are lacking teeth.

Many people will opt for dentures after the loss of one or more teeth. Unfortunately, eating certain foods is not recommended while wearing dentures.

Sticky, starchy, hard, and crunchy foods are difficult to eat while wearing dentures. These foods will stick and stain your dentures while causing the denture material to bend and warp. This decreases the appeal of your dentures while changing the way they fit comfortably in your mouth.

Dental implants allow you to chew and eat any foods without pain, discomfort, or damage, so you will be able to consume essential vitamins and minerals.