An estimated 120 million individuals who live in the United States currently have one or more missing teeth. This figure is estimated to increase to an estimated 200 million people over the next one and a half decades. Additionally, there are over 36 million people in the country who have no permanent natural teeth left anymore. A very unfortunate factor about tooth loss is that the issue could often have been avoided through appropriate oral hygiene and frequent visits to an experienced dentist. The World Health Organization reports that the two most common causes of tooth loss in the global population include dental caries, as well as the presence of severe periodontal disease. Through preventative care and appropriate treatment, tooth loss can be avoided in both of these conditions. One particularly common option that is often preferred in today is LANAP laser therapy. This method is non-invasive and does not require any type of surgery, which is certainly beneficial for the majority of patients.
The Potential Complications Of Tooth Loss
For many people, tooth loss is a visual complication – affecting their appearance and leading to poor self-esteem. These effects especially come into play when the person needs to interact with others, or when they have to smile. The individual would be concerned about the fact that they have missing teeth in their mouth, which would ultimately impact the appearance of their smile. There are, however, other complications that tooth loss also leads to – and it is important for patients to be aware of these, in order to encourage them to implement appropriate preventative care methods. The mouth is where digestion starts. Teeth play an important role in digestion and allow a person to chew their food so that the food can be swallowed easily and to make it easier for the stomach to digest the food. Tooth loss leads to a problem with chewing and causes an issue with a person’s bite alignment. There are also some people who experience speech-related problems when they have missing teeth in their mouth.
The Prevention Of Tooth Loss
Prevention is truly the best option when it comes to tooth loss. The good news is, there are many preventative strategies that a patient can opt for to help reduce their risk of periodontal disease, dental caries, and other issues that may ultimately contribute to the loss of their teeth. Proper oral hygiene would be at the top of the list here. The individual should ensure they brush their teeth, floss and try to quit smoking if they are a current smoker. Excessive alcohol intake has also been associated with a higher risk of diseases that affect the gums, so limiting alcohol can also be a useful preventative strategy. Other than this, controlling diseases that are known to contribute to issues such as periodontal disease should be considered. A regular check-up with a dentist and a frequent professional cleaning of the patient’s teeth will also be exceptionally helpful.
Where LANAP Laser Therapy Comes In
There are some cases where a dentist may consider a patient’s tooth to be hopeless – often suggested that the tooth is pulled. This is especially the case when periodontal disease causes large pockets, which significantly reduces the amount of supportive tissue and structures that are needed to keep the patient’s teeth in the correct place. LANAP laser surgery may be a useful option in such cases – but goes beyond this particular scenario. Some patients with less severe forms of the periodontal disease may also find LANAP laser therapy a beneficial way to prevent further damage and to even stimulate the growth of new bone tissue. LANAP is sometimes also just called dental laser treatment. It is described as a bladeless and minimally invasive technique that can be utilized to help improve the patient’s overall dental health in cases where they are experiencing complications caused by conditions like the common periodontal disease2. A dentist who has the appropriate equipment to perform this laser therapy on a patient will be able to assist in removing the bacteria that usually eats away at gum tissue, bone tissue, and other surrounding tissues that are in place to provide support for the patient’s teeth. In addition to removing the bacteria – which also contributes to the development of infections – the procedure can also assist in removing tartar build-up. Apart from removing these substances, the laser system has also been proven effective in removing tissue in the surrounding areas that have become diseased. This is an important step to be taken, as the diseased tissue’s presence makes it difficult for the body to build new tissue in the areas. When the diseased tissue is removed between the gum and the affected teeth, then the body will be able to initiate its natural healing processes. This, in turn, leads to the development of new gum tissue, as well as bone tissue. As the new tissue regenerates and grows, it means that the support structure that is needed to hold the patient’s teeth in place become present again. This means that the risk of tooth loss is greatly reduced.
Conclusion
Dental caries, along with periodontal disease, causes millions of people to lose teeth. Tooth loss contributes to psychological problems, and the presence of periodontal disease may also contribute to the development of certain cardiovascular diseases. Treatment of these conditions at an early stage is an adequate option to prevent complications like tooth loss. LANAP laser therapy is one effective strategy that has already been implemented in many dental practices worldwide.
References
1 Facts & Figures. American Collee of Prosthodontists. https://www.gotoapro.org/facts-figures/ 2 A. Jha, V. Gupta, R. Adinarayan. LANAP, Periodontics and Beyond: A Review. Journal of Lasers in Medical Sciences. 20 Mar 2018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6046393/
