Just because you’ve lost your natural teeth, it doesn’t mean you can stop visiting the dentist. Edentulous people – those with no natural teeth- need to find an effective form of tooth replacement if they are going to be able to enjoy any quality of life, and modern dentistry offers a number of options for those who have lost their teeth.
When you haven’t got many (or any) functional natural teeth left, you will struggle to eat a healthy and balanced diet. Good nutrition is vital to your physical and mental health, and not being able to eat properly because it is too painful or because you have no teeth to chew with can lead to very serious consequences – even malnutrition.
The best way to avoid the problems that toot loss brings is to avoid it happening in the first place, by keeping conditions such as gum disease and dental decay in check with regular visits to the dentist and hygienist and an effective home routine of brushing and flossing. But tooth loss does occur, and if it’s happened to you, the best course of action is to contact a dentist.
At Blue Sky Dentistry in Belfast, dental implants are one of the most popular methods of replacing missing teeth. They have the benefit of being permanent, and are placed in direct contact with your jaw bone in a minor operation, where they then form a strong anchor to support a denture or bridge.
Anyone who has experienced the horrors and trauma of tooth loss then restored their smile with dental implants won’t want to risk going through that experience again. So much like natural teeth are your implants and the false teeth attached to them that they can gather dental plaque, which in turn can lead to a similar condition to gum disease.
A dental hygienist will teach you how to clean your new teeth and implants effectively. Whilst dentures are often still removable for cleaning (thus should be carefully cleaned in the normal way) bridges and crowns attached to dental implants should be brushed and flossed like natural teeth. You should also visit your dentist and hygienist regularly.
