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When You Lose a Tooth, Why Do Your Gums Shrink?
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Posted on 3/10/2020 by Todd Jorgenson |
 The loss of a tooth can be an expected turn of events as we age, but it also does a lot of damage to the mouth. Your bone beneath that tooth is going to start to reabsorb.
The gums are going to shrink back, plus if the missing tooth is not replaced, the other teeth in the mouth are going to shift around. If you want to keep that from happening, you need to make sure to replace any missing teeth as soon as you can from when you lose them. Otherwise, some of the effects will become permanent.
Gums Move Because Your Body Believes They Are No Longer NeededWhen you lose a tooth, your body goes into healing mode. It cleans up the remnants of the tooth, and it absorbs the tissue that no longer needs to be there to support the tooth that is now gone. This includes the bone tissue that was below that tooth, as well as the gums that supported that tooth.
If you watch your gums as the area heals, they begin to shrink back down to cover just the socket. However, they do not always stop there. Sometimes they continue to recede, especially if you have any type of untreated gum disease. You need to make sure that when you have a tooth extracted, you do everything you can to ensure that socket and the surrounding tissues are able to stay healthy.
If you lost a tooth, and want to ensure that your gums stay as healthy as possible, call us. Let us take a look at what is going on in your mouth and figure out what can be done, if anything, to improve the overall health of your mouth and your gums. Reach out to our office today! |
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