When you lose a tooth, you have a choice. You can get that tooth replaced, or you can keep the gap in your smile. If you're up against this decision right now and don't know what to do, then check out this guide that explains some of the reasons why it's not wise to let that gap remain.

Judgment

While people aren't supposed to judge others by the way that they look, that's often not the case in reality. Studies have found that people are judged by the quality of their smiles. For example, it's been discovered that people who have bad teeth or missing teeth are less likely to get a job or to score a promotion than those who have intact smiles. This kind of judgment applies to all walks of life, so if there's something that you want, that gap between your teeth might keep you from getting it.

Bone Loss

A big problem with letting a tooth stay missing is that you're likely to lose some other things, too. One of these things is bone density. When a tooth is lost, a natural mechanism that every single person has is lost, too. When you normally have all of your teeth and chew on them, the pressure that the teeth are subjected to also transfers down into the jaw. This stimulates the jaw to grow new bone cells, ensuring that your jaw stays healthy and that the bone is strong enough to support your teeth. However, when one or more teeth are lost, this mechanism fails, and the jaw can begin to grow weaker as a result.

Tooth Loss

As mentioned, when the jaw is weaker, it often can't support the teeth that it's supposed to. This is a big problem because it can put your remaining teeth at risk.

Unfortunately, this is a self-perpetuating cycle. If you were to lose more teeth, the effect of your jaw weakening would intensify and make you more likely to lose even more teeth and so on.

Having a missing tooth is something that you should tackle as soon as possible in order to prevent these problems from happening to you. One excellent way to do that is to get dental implants. Dental implants are perfect matches for real teeth and can fill in a smile without anyone knowing. Plus, since they extend down into the gums like a real tooth does, they can pick up the slack in transferring pressure to the jaw, helping it to grow stronger again in the process. Speak to a dental professional about dental implants to learn more.