Maintaining a healthy, beautiful smile can be simple, but it’s an ongoing, lifelong process. Some of the most common reasons for tooth loss are dental diseases – like cavities and gum disease – that are easily preventable with a good hygiene routine and regular visits to your dentist. To help increase your chances of preserving your smile, we briefly explore three common things that contribute to tooth loss, even when people don’t realize the risks they’re creating.
1. Skipping your checkups and cleanings.
If you don’t currently have any existing dental issues, you should still visit your dentist routinely for checkup and cleaning appointments. In general, the rule of thumb is to schedule your appointments no more than six months apart. However, you might need to visit more often if your dentist finds evidence of tooth decay or gingivitis.
2. Procrastinating in seeking dental treatment.
Even patients who regularly visit the dentist might hesitate to schedule a more involved treatment if necessary. Waiting to have a cavity filled or a compromised tooth capped with a crown can give the condition time to grow worse. In severe cases, a tooth might be too infected or damaged to save it by the time you seek treatment, and it may be lost or need extraction.
3. Not replacing teeth that are already lost.
If you’ve already lost a tooth, you might think preventing tooth loss is a lost cause. However, you still have other teeth that are at risk for loss if you don’t take care of them properly. Replacing a lost tooth as soon as possible stops the migration of remaining healthy teeth, which can increase the risks of those teeth becoming damaged or infected, as well.
