Does Missing Teeth Affect Appetite?
We all know that missing teeth can have a direct impact on your facial aesthetics and appearance. But it’s not just our smile that is affected by losing one or more natural teeth. Did you know that missing teeth can have a direct influence on your physical health and wellbeing as well? Yes, that’s true! The longer you wait to get your missing teeth replaced, the greater will be the damage to your overall dental and physical health.
Missing Teeth and your General Health; What’s the Relationship?
A lost tooth affects more than just our smile; it affects our ability to eat and speak properly. Each tooth in our oral cavity has a specific role to play in chewing and digesting the food we eat. Our front teeth – the incisors and the canines – are used for cutting and shearing. On the other hand, our back teeth, the molars and the premolars are used for grinding and crushing. Hence, all our teeth work together towards a common goal – to break the food into smaller particles so that it can be digested easily by our digestive system.
Tooth Loss and your Appetite
Now imagine what would happen if you lose a tooth! Losing even a single back tooth can put a lot of pressure on the remaining teeth – making it harder for you to chew and digest food. Tooth loss can also affect your appetite in the following ways:
- Indigestion and Gastric Problems
Our digestive system can only digest food properly if it has been broken down into smaller particles. Unfortunately, when you lose one or more teeth, the remaining teeth are often unable to break the food into smaller particle – putting excessive pressure on the digestive system – causing a variety of problems such as indigestion and acid reflux.
- Malnutrition
Can you imagine how hard it would be to walk on just one leg? Similarly, it is not easy to eat when you have missing teeth. Elderly individuals who have lost one or more teeth often find it difficult to eat wholesome foods – most of them being hard, requiring significant chewing force. As a result, they prefer eating soft foods that often do not provide sufficient energy or nutrition to ensure optimal health.
- Loss of Appetite
It is not easy to eat steak or other hard foods when you don’t have all your teeth. That is why people with tooth loss often find it difficult to enjoy their favourite foods – and lose their appetite. This will not only have a significant effect on the quality of their life but also affect their overall health and the ability of their bodies to fight infections.
So, What’s the Solution?
The good news is that tooth loss can be treated easily. Thanks to modern dentistry, dental implants offer a reliable, durable, and aesthetically pleasant option for the replacement of missing teeth.
If you have a single missing tooth, you can get it replaced with a tooth implant that supports a naturally beautiful zirconia crown. In case you have lost more than one teeth, multiple dental implants (usually 2 or 3) can be used for tooth replacement with a partial, implant-supported denture. For individuals who have lost all their teeth, only 4 or 6 implants in each jaw are needed to support a complete fixed bridge.
Why Dental Implants?
Wondering why you should choose dental implants over other tooth replacement options like conventional dentures or bridges? Here’s why:
- Durability – dental implants are made from high-quality titanium alloys. Hence, dental implant-supported prostheses are much more durable and longlasting.
- Convenience – the dental implants are embedded directly inside the bone. As a result, any prosthesis – a denture or a bridge – that is attached to them does not slip or move unnecessarily, restoring your ability to eat and speak without difficulty.
- Aesthetics – dental implants can be used for replacing missing teeth with aesthetically pleasing crowns, dentures or bridges, which restore your facial aesthetics and improve your smile.
- Bone Conservation – when you lose a tooth, the jawbone around it immediately starts to undergo degradation and increases the risk of spontaneous jaw fracture. Dental implants have a unique benefit – they promote bone formation around them, thereby conserving the density, strength and quality of the jaw bone.
Don’t let your missing teeth come in the of your appearance and self-confidence. Visit Meiplus Dentalcare today to check your eligibility for getting your missing teeth replaced with dental implants Singapore. Tooth replacement with dental implants can indeed be expensive, but you can consult our dentist if you are eligible to claim from Medisave for dental implants in Singapore.
Get your missing teeth replaced with dental implants and start enjoying an active and healthy life.
Written by Dr John Kim Taeyun
