If you live in America, the simple answer to the above question is probably a resounding, “Yes!” Though you can survive without teeth, your quality of life will diminish when you don’t expediently replace permanent teeth which have fallen out or been extracted. However, how much of your quality of life is affected may be dependent upon which teeth and how many you lose. At least this is the theory of a research study from Australia.
The Right Position
The University of Adelaide turned classic dental theories on dental replacements around a bit. While it has long been assumed that losing teeth will make eating, speaking, and physical interactions challenging, the scientists at the University’s Australian Research Center for Population Oral Health in the School of Dentistry focused on the fact that as long as someone has certain teeth in the right amounts and positions left in their mouth, they should still be able to enjoy a fruitful and satisfying existence. The patients in question manifested “shortened dental arches” as a result of their tooth loss, thereby allowing them to compensate in the way they used their remaining teeth.
Personal Choice
That said, the research team cannot refute that there is a certain point where quality of life becomes diminished as a result of so many missing teeth. Over 2700 Australians were studied in the research which will be published in a future issue of the journal Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology. There are nearly 434,000 people in Australia who might consider dentures at some stage in their lives (as a result of tooth loss) who researchers believe can happily live without prosthetics as long as they have the proper balance between biting and cutting teeth. Still, from a cultural standpoint, it might be acceptable to flash a grin full of missing teeth in other parts of the world, but for United States citizens, the embarrassment of doing so is likely to lower quality of life no matter how many teeth are missing. Fortunately, dentures are not the only replacements option. Dental implants are a great solution, especially when only a small number of teeth are missing.
ABOUT YOUR ARLINGTON HEIGHTS COSMETIC DENTIST:
Dr. Brent Engelberg and his highly-skilled team proudly serve patients and their families from Arlington Heights, IL, and all surrounding communities, including; Northbrook, Deerfield, Highland Park, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Vernon Hills, Lincolnshire, Libertyville, Skokie, Evanston, Palatine, Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village, Rolling Meadows, and the Northern and Northwest Chicago Suburbs. To learn more, schedule a consultation online, or call our office today at 847-259-8030.
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