The loss of a permanent tooth, whatever the reason (caries, dental trauma, fractures, periodontal disease, failure in endodontic treatment, etc.) is a real trauma in the life of any patient, from an emotional and physical point of view.
In addition to the loss of masticatory and aesthetic ability, the non-replacement of lost tooth(s) can cause other problems that arise silently, aggravating oral health and further harming chewing and making solutions more complicated.
When we lose a tooth, during the healing of the alveolus (bone that supports the tooth) it can lose volume in an irreversible way, making the prosthetic restoration more difficult.
If the tooth is not replaced soon, there may be movement of the teeth that were in contact with it, such as neighbors that tend to occupy their space and the tooth of the opposite arch (antagonist) that can extrude due to no longer having contact with it. the missing tooth. This can cause occlusal problems and root exposures and make cleaning misaligned teeth more difficult, causing cavities and/or periodontal problems. With these dental movements, diadems (spaces between the teeth) can also appear, which start to retain food and / or previous crowding, impairing aesthetics and hygiene, requiring the use of orthodontic appliances for their correction.
How can I avoid all this?
The dentist specializing in dental implants can help from the moment of tooth extraction, using techniques to preserve the alveolar bone, such as atraumatic extraction for and tissue repair techniques such as bone and / or gingival grafts when necessary.
The tooth should preferably be replaced by installing a dental implant as soon as possible. This also helps to maintain the remaining tissues giving the implant prosthesis a more natural appearance and prevents movement of neighboring and opposing teeth.
Replacement can often be done during tooth extraction, depending on the local conditions of the remaining alveolar bone if there are no infections at the extraction site.