Dental Treatments that Help You Avoid Tooth Loss
When you think of most common dental health treatments, the biggest concerns you might think of are those that the treatments directly address. For example, a filling treats a tooth cavity, but by treating the cavity, the filling also helps you avoid more severe complications with your tooth’s structure in the future. Similarly, there are many other concerns that, if left untreated long enough, can cause enough harm to your oral health to lead to tooth loss. By addressing these concerns with appropriate treatment, you can significantly reduce your risks of losing any of your natural teeth.
The removal of tooth decay
Tooth decay is the most frequent concern for patients of all ages, but it isn’t typically associated with risks of tooth loss. That’s typically because tooth decay is most often treated while it’s still in it’s mild or moderate stage, when it can be successfully addressed by filling the cavity that it has caused. In severe cases, however, the infection (or decay) that causes the cavity can threaten much more of your tooth’s structure, and can significantly increase the risks of the tooth being lost to the infection.
The management of gum disease
While tooth decay is one of the most common oral health concerns, the one that most often leads to tooth loss is gum disease. Like tooth decay, gum disease is a product of harmful oral bacteria, and it can often be addressed and managed before it becomes severe enough to lead to tooth loss. However, many patients can miss the early signs of gum disease, or mistake them as insignificant signs that don’t warrant immediate attention. Because of this, many people can experience more severe stages of gum disease by the time seek treatment for it, and the damage that it causes to their gums and jawbone structure can make the loss or extraction of a tooth inevitable.
The restoration of a damaged tooth
A tooth that suffers a fracture, break, or other form of damage to its healthy, natural structure, will become immediately weaker and more vulnerable. The tooth may be more likely to develop tooth decay in the part of the structure that’s exposed, or the damage to its structure can grow increasingly worse over time. If this continues, the tooth may be lost before you seek treatment, or restoring your smile may require extracting and replacing the tooth as soon as possible.
Learn more about how to avoid tooth loss
There are multiple oral health concerns that might lead to tooth loss, and treating them with the right personalized treatment plan can help you avoid losing one or more of your teeth to them. To learn more, call our Cleveland Family Dentistry office in Cleveland, TX, today at (281) 592-1234.