Some of the reasons for seeking out dental implants after losing teeth are obvious. Dental implants can help restore your smile and your ability to chew and enjoy your favorite foods. But other benefits are not so obvious. For example, dental implants can prevent you from losing bone mass in your jaw by stimulating bone growth in much the same way natural teeth do. And there are other benefits that you may not be aware of — for example, it's possible that dental implants may help you maintain your heart health.
Tooth Loss and Heart Disease
Often, patients don't realize how closely their dental health is tied to other areas of their physical health, but the truth is that tooth and gum health affects your whole body. For instance, gum disease and heart disease are often correlated. And tooth loss may also be related to heart disease.
Studies have found that patients who have lost two or more teeth in their middle ages could have a greater risk of developing heart disease. The risk is elevated for patients who lose teeth regardless of any other risk factors they may have, such as hypertension or heart disease.
How Dental Implants May Help
The question is, if you've already lost teeth, is the damage already done? Are you stuck with an elevated risk for heart disease no matter what? The answer isn't known for sure, but it's possible that replacing the lost teeth with dental implants could help.
Dental implants provide several benefits that could help bring your risk of heart disease back down. Tooth loss can often affect patients' abilities to eat a healthy diet because it becomes more difficult to eat certain foods. But with your ability to chew restored, you'll have no problem consuming a heart-healthy diet.
Because dental implants prevent bone loss, they prevent some of the pitfalls of bone loss that patients who lose teeth often experience. If you lose bone mass in your jaw, your face slowly changes shape and your remaining teeth shift as well. Teeth that shift become more crooked and more prone to cavities. This means that you're more likely to develop gum disease as well as heart disease. But with dental implants in place to prevent bone loss, you're spared these negative effects of tooth loss.
Dental implants also improve your quality of life. Concerns about missing teeth can cause anxiety and social isolation. With your ability to smile widely and speak clearly restored by dental implants, you'll have less stress and a better quality of life than you would have without the implants. It's impossible to say how much of an impact this may have on your heart health, but a higher quality of life is certainly better for your heart.
Taking care of your oral health is important for your overall health, and replacing lost teeth is one way of taking care of your oral health. Talk to your dentist about whether dental implants are the right choice for you. Visit websites like http://premierdentalgrp.com/ for more information.
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