The health of your teeth is essential to your daily life. If your teeth deteriorate, is it necessary to consider having dental implants?
Dental health and your body
Your mouth is an important part of your digestive system. When you eat food, your teeth break it down by chewing it while your saliva softens the food. Chewing the food allows it to flow down the oesophagus easily and makes the pieces easy to digest by the stomach. Inability to chew due to dental cavities or infected gums may lead to malnutrition.
Impaired teeth can affect the daily interactions of some people. Dental cavities breed bacteria within the tooth which results to halitosis or bad breath. A visible cavity and bad breath may affect the self-esteem of some individuals which impairs their social interaction with others.
Dental disease including dental cavities also affects the human body. Inflammation causing agents including bacteria and pro-inflammatory mediators within the oral cavity can find its way into a person’s bloodstream via the gingival pockets. This results in an inflammation within the blood vessels or damaged heart valves which increases potential risk of ailments such as stroke, heart attack or atherosclerosis.
There have been studies which have connected certain diseases to impaired dental health. Some cases of lung disease are caused by dental cavities. Bacteria within the cavity of a tooth get inhaled by the upper throat which leads to the lower respiratory tract. Bacteria grow and cause bronchitis and other lung diseases.

Dental implants
For most dental cavities, treatment requires tooth extraction. Gum disease may also result in loose teeth due to the weakening of the gums. Replacing any extracted tooth requires dental bridging.
Traditional bridging uses a crown which is crafted for the tooth or implant at either side of the missing tooth. This is the most common type of bridging where porcelain is fused to metal or ceramic. A problem with dental bridging is how the crown deteriorates over time and may require the removal of any healthy teeth adjacent to the missing tooth.
Dental implants provide a permanent solution to relacing a missing tooth. Dental implants are determined by these indicators:
- Bone shape, size and quality
- Health of the gum and teeth adjacent to the implant site
- Cosmetic appearance of the teeth
- Set up of the bite
- General oral health and patient’s medical health
Dental implants requires patient to have a good amount of bone density within the implant site where the titanium sockets will be fitted in. The implanted socket needs to be properly supported by the jaw bone where the prosthetic tooth will be placed.
A patient’s health needs to be optimal without any underlying disease when receiving dental implants. When a socket is implanted, it needs to heal naturally for it to be properly embedded. Patients who smoke or have a disease which impairs their body’s natural healing are discouraged to receive implants until they are cured of the disease or have stopped smoking.
For those who are valid candidates of dental implants, they can preserve their healthy teeth and smile.