The teeth are generally quite strong and designed to last, that is until the onset of cavities, tooth decay, or gum disease, and other dental and periodontal issues. When left unaddressed, a simple concern in your teeth can quickly progress, eventually leading to tooth loss. From difficulty eating and talking to experiencing low self-esteem due to gaps in your smile, tooth loss can have devastating consequences.
The good news is, it doesn’t have to end this way. Today, periodontists can help you restore everything that you lost due to one or more missing teeth. And it’s not just any temporary or partial tooth replacement, either. Dental implants are proven to be the most complete and permanent tooth replacement method, from root to crown.
But not everyone is onboard just yet. Some people in Mississauga prefer a simple tooth extraction to treat severe decay and other periodontal complications over a total tooth replacement system. If you’re on the fence about dental implants and simply want a tooth extraction, we’ve compiled all of the pros and cons to help you make the right decision.
Why Tooth Loss Doesn’t Stop with Extraction
When a tooth is severely damaged, your periodontist in Mississauga will provide you with a number of tooth restoration options. If the tooth is beyond repair, they will recommend a tooth extraction right away to prevent worse damage that can affect surrounding teeth.
However, treatment does not necessarily stop with extracting the damaged tooth. To restore your quality of life, a periodontist will also recommend restorative treatments, such as dental implants, or less permanent modes such as dentures and dental bridges.
Why You Need a Tooth Replacement: The Risks of Not Replacing Missing Teeth
Once a decayed, infected, or damaged tooth is removed, it’s easy to think that the problem is over. And on one level that’s true, since the immediate condition is treated. But leaving the gap created by a missing tooth can cause more problems than you might realize.
In fact, leaving this gap unfilled affects your jawbone and remaining healthy teeth over time. These side effects include:
- Your remaining teeth can shift, causing them to drift. Aside from being connected to the jawbone, a complete set of teeth also rely on each other to maintain their position. Losing a tooth then causes remaining teeth to compensate for the gap, creating wider spaces between them.
- Remaining teeth are at high risk of decay or infection, as well as gum disease and other periodontal concerns that can spread from the affected tooth.
- You may experience difficulty biting, chewing, and speaking without the full force of a complete smile.
- The jawbone can deteriorate as a result of the gap left by a missing tooth. This occurs because the jawbone will absorb the gap, causing it to shrink or lose volume. Over time, a smaller jawbone can affect your facial appearance.
Benefits of a Combined Tooth Extraction and Dental Implant Treatment
As you’ve seen, a tooth extraction on its own is not the ideal solution for replacing and restoring damaged teeth. It’s still best to have an actual tooth replacement—and there’s nothing better than a dental implant.
Here are the top reasons why:
- Dental implants fill in the gap left by missing teeth completely. Unlike other tooth replacement options, dental implants start in the jawbone, so they’re anchored securely and keep the actual artificial tooth stable.
- Dental implants replace the roots of your missing teeth in the jawbone. This fills in the gaps left by missing teeth, so you can prevent bone loss and maintain a healthy jawbone.
- Planning for dental implants right after tooth extraction eliminates the risks of waiting too long to get implants, such as needing the extra step of getting a bone graft to restore the jawbone. This also helps you avoid prolonged impacts to your quality of life, such as difficulty eating and speaking, and low self-esteem.
When to Get Dental Implants After Tooth Extraction
It’s true that you don’t have to rush to get dental implants immediately after your tooth extraction. But you shouldn’t wait too long either because with more time comes more risks. Even if dental implants can be placed years after losing a tooth, following up a tooth extraction with an implant saves you more time, prevents difficulties with oral function, and eliminates the need for additional treatment.
Let’s break down these scenarios to better understand why the timing of getting dental implants is crucial.
What happens if you wait to get dental implants?
- The dental implant process becomes more complicated and expensive due to bone loss that starts immediately after tooth extraction.
- The gap left in the jawbone will no longer receive stimulation from biting and chewing, causing your body to interpret this as an indicator that the bone is no longer needed, causing the jawbone to degrade.
- Due to the bone loss that occurs over the years that the missing tooth isn’t replaced, you will likely need a bone graft before your periodontist can place the dental implant in your jawbone. This is an extra step that adds a few weeks to months to the entire dental implant procedure.
Why Get Dental Implants as Soon as Possible
- If you proceed with dental implants right after tooth extraction, you can prevent or minimize any bone loss. As a result, you likely won’t need a bone graft to restore the strength and volume of your jawbone.
- Your alignment will remain intact. This means your remaining teeth won’t drift and they will retain their normal spacing.
- You can prevent long-term impacts to your quality of life, since you will be able to bite, chew, talk, and even smile as you normally would, without dealing with a missing tooth for years. And as a bonus, you will also experience less post-op pain and discomfort since you can take all the recovery time out of the way at once.
Plan for Tooth Extraction and Dental Implants with Our Periodontists in Mississauga
Still weighing the pros and cons of following up your tooth extraction with dental implants? Our periodontists in Mississauga can help. At Periodontal Associates, we value your comfort and quality of life above all else. Our periodontists aim to provide you with a seamless treatment plan that restores your smile in the most efficient way possible in order to avoid complications and additional treatments. Don’t wait years to get dental implants and take longer to achieve a complete, healthy smile.
Do you need a tooth extraction and tooth replacement? Book a consultation with our periodontists in Mississauga for a seamless, personalized treatment plan.
