The average American will have lost 12 teeth by the age of 50, including their four wisdom teeth. In addition, 69 percent of the people aged 35 to 44 had lost at least one permanent tooth. Living with missing teeth can have a negative impact on your overall health.

Your teeth play a crucial role in your life. They offer you your lovely grin and assist you in eating. Having gaps in your teeth can make you feel self-conscious and can lead to additional dental problems in the long run. Losing a tooth is a frequent problem, but getting dental implants to restore missing teeth isn't just about appearance since they may also create major health concerns. 

1. Bone loss
Your teeth, like your bones, rely on their health. A strong and healthy jaw bone aids in the anchoring of your teeth. It secures them in place. When you chew your food, you stimulate and support the bone in your jaw, much like exercising does for your muscles. 

Since the gap in your mouth no longer has another tooth to make contact with, it can cause bone loss in your jaw. Having this empty area will lead to the degradation of the jawbone in this place over time. And this might weaken the teeth around it.

2. Psychological issues
Our capacity to talk clearly is hampered by a lack of teeth. This slurred speech may have a detrimental impact on one's self-esteem. Low self-esteem can impact many aspects of your life and even lead to the development of mental issues. Moreover, the aesthetic and social issues linked with tooth loss cause anxiety and depression.

3. Teeth shifting
The surrounding natural teeth will gradually begin to migrate in to fill the gap created by the missing tooth when your jawbone decreases due to bone loss after losing a tooth. Other teeth will progressively begin to move into the gaps left by moving teeth, resulting in a variety of difficulties, including crooked teeth. 

Crooked teeth can make eating more difficult, in addition to damaging your smile and even your confidence. Furthermore, the uneven pressure caused by crooked teeth can make the teeth around them more susceptible to damage.

4. Increase your chances of losing more teeth
When you lose a tooth, it can have a domino effect on the health of the teeth around it. According to recent studies, neglecting to replace a lost tooth raises the chance of additional tooth loss by 30%.

5. Reduced ability to consume specific foods
Another disadvantage of losing teeth is the inability to chew certain foods. It may be tough to consume or bite down on hard foods depending on where the missing teeth are located. This may be effective in the short run. However, it will place additional strain on your remaining teeth and lead to poor health and nutrition. 

When you don't chew your food correctly, it might lead to digestive problems. While it is possible to avoid eating hard, sticky meals, doing so may cause more issues in the long term. To be healthy and avoid illness, you need to eat well. Living with lacking teeth compromises your entire health. Visit your dentist to get your teeth replaced.

6. Gum disease
It is more difficult to brush and floss your teeth when they are out of alignment and crooked. This means that food is lodged in areas you can't reach. Bacteria cause plaque to build on the teeth, which hardens into tartar. When this happens, you can get gingivitis which is a minor type of gum disease. If left untreated, this can progress to periodontitis, which is a major health problem that can cause more missing teeth. It has been connected to various health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic diseases.