Losing teeth isn't something that anybody wants to go through. Unfortunately, having a tooth fall out or extracted is just the beginning of potential problems. Once you're missing a tooth, if you don't take any steps to replace it, you could be facing significant issues in the future. However, this is where professional dental implants can help. If you're curious as to what issues you may be up against and how a dental implant can potentially prevent them, here's what you should know.

Tooth Shifting

One of the common problems after the loss of a tooth is its neighbors shifting. Although teeth are meant to stand strong on their own, they do rely on each other to a certain extent to stay in position and properly upright. When a tooth is extracted or otherwise lost, the pressure applied to your teeth when you bite down and chew is distributed unevenly. Over time, this can gradually cause the two neighboring teeth to lean inwards, towards the gap.

With dental implants, an implant is placed right where your tooth used to be, all the way down to the root of your jaw. This keeps anything from moving and helps to maintain the straightness of your smile.

Gum Disease

While not everyone who loses a tooth will go through gum disease, there is an increased risk for it after tooth loss. While gum disease can cause tooth loss itself, you're also at a higher risk of developing it after losing a tooth. This is due, in part, to diminished circulation in the gums. When you bite down on a tooth, pressure travels through the tooth and is partially lost in the gums. This pressure on the gums pushes blood out, then when you release, it rushes back in, bringing healthy oxygenated blood into the gums. With diminished circulation, it's harder for the body to fight infections, which can make gum disease worse or make it harder to beat it.

Bone Loss

Another problem that many people with tooth loss experience is bone loss in their jaws. Any pressure that isn't distributed to the gums instead ends up being sent to the bone that holds your teeth in place. This makes the bone grow stronger and thicker, but when it doesn't receive this pressure regularly, it can become thinner and weaker.

Dental implants mimic the way real teeth work, restoring this helpful pressure and stimulating your bones to stay strong.

For information on dental crown implants contact a dentist near you.