7 Common Problems with Your Teeth

For most of your life, you’ve heard you need to brush your teeth twice a day, floss regularly, and visit your preferred dentist at least twice a year. Neglecting even basic dental care can turn into a nightmare for your smile, your gums, and your teeth. Of course, sometimes, even when you do everything right, you might still have problem teeth – or lose a tooth or two.

Take a look at the most common problems you can experience with your teeth, and make sure to contact your dentist if you’re experiencing any of them.

Toothaches

Toothaches are caused by a variety of problems. In all cases, you’ll want to seek dental or medical treatment as soon as possible. Your teeth or mouth may ache due to a broken or cracked tooth, an abscessed tooth, cavities, or having a tooth knocked out in an accident. Do not delay in seeing your dentist when you have a toothache as it will only get worse and cause more problems over time.

Tooth Decay

You may not always be able to see tooth decay but you can feel it. It’s the reason you get a cavity, but it can also lead to other, more serious problems later. Tooth decay is caused by plaque that forms on your teeth combining with the sugars or starches from the food you eat to form an acid. This acid sits on your teeth and damages the enamel, leading to cavities and other problems. The best option is to prevent tooth decay before it starts by brushing and flossing regularly and having your teeth cleaned at least twice a year.

Gum Disease

While gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, isn’t an illness or injury in your teeth, it affects your teeth a great deal. Gum disease is the main cause of tooth loss in adults. Symptoms include bad breath, sensitive teeth, painful chewing, and red, swollen, tender gums. There are two stages of gum disease: gingivitis and periodontitis. Regular check-ups with your dentist and good dental hygiene will help prevent gum disease, but it’s also important to treat it during the early stages to avoid tooth loss.

Tooth Erosion

Tooth erosion means that you experience loss of tooth structure. It happens most commonly when acid attacks the enamel and wears it down. This causes multiple other issues like cracking of your teeth and tooth sensitivity. Because this is directly impacted by what you eat and drink, it’s important to reduce your intake of sugary or carbonated drinks, use straws while drinking, and rinse your mouth out with water after you eat or drink anything. Proper care and cleaning of your teeth can help prevent tooth erosion as well.

Tooth Sensitivity

Having sensitive teeth makes even the most basic function – like eating or drinking – extremely painful. When your teeth are sensitive you may experience pain while eating sweets or ice cream, drinking hot or cold beverages, and even feeling cold air on your teeth. It’s important to see your dentist because there are treatments for tooth sensitivity that are available. Plus, tooth sensitivity can also be a sign of something more serious like a cracked or abscessed tooth.

Missing Teeth

You may lose a tooth for any number of reasons – an accident, gum disease, and tooth decay are just a few. Missing teeth lead to multiple problems including difficulty eating or speaking. The remaining teeth you have may also shift and move in your mouth, impacting your smile. Dental implants are a long-lasting solution to replace a tooth or multiple teeth to avoid bone loss in your jaw and other problems caused by missing teeth.

Unattractive Smile

A smile you don’t like isn’t always caused by a dental health problem with your teeth, but missing, decaying, or eroding teeth definitely impact your smile. This causes problems with self esteem and confidence which affects your relationships and career. Depending on the reason for why you don’t love your smile, there are plenty of options to give you a smile you can be proud of, including dental implants or other cosmetic procedures.

Conclusion

Proper dental hygiene and regular dental check-ups can prevent most problems with your teeth. Even with the best preventative care, though, you can still experience pain, sensitivity, or missing teeth. Depending on what’s wrong, there are multiple options to correct your smile and make sure you’re pain-free, including dental implants. If you’re unhappy with your teeth or in a lot of pain, talk to a qualified dentist and find out what treatment options are available.