Could a dental implant improve my digestion?

Tooth loss can cause all sorts of problems to our overall health, but one area that is not greatly discussed or delved into is the effect losing a tooth can have on our gut health. If you have lost a tooth and find yourself now struggling with gut and digestion issues you won’t be alone. Our team at High Dental Implants Melbourne cares for patients’ overall health – not just teeth. Keep reading for all you need to know about whether a dental implant Melbourne provided by our practice can improve your digestion.

How does having teeth impact our digestion?

Here’s the science bit – nutrients that come from food are really important to our overall health. The way these nutrients get into our body is through the way we digest them. Believe it or not, certain teeth are actually biologically designed to chew particular types of food. Our incisors which are the ones right at the front of the mouth are the sharpest, these teeth are specially designed to cut food and send it to the back of the mouth. Then come the canines which are just behind the incisors, they are made to hold and tear food. They have extra long roots to keep them in place. Then finally at the back (before those troubling wisdom teeth) we have the premolars and these are extra important because they are the ones made to chew and break down food. Food when it’s been properly chewed up goes to our pharynx and then combines with saliva to head towards our tummy.

Here’s a fun fact

If you don’t chew your food properly you don’t make enough saliva and it’s saliva that actually helps in the breaking down of food. So how you chew your food is very important – if you’re  eating a balanced healthy diet, but you aren’t breaking the food to get to the nutrients, then your health could become affected and obviously we don’t want this for any of our patients.

So where does a dental implant Melbourne fit into all this?

It’s very simple – a dental implant Melbourne is the most natural equivalent replacement to tooth loss. Whichever of the teeth you have lost from the list above – a dental implant will be uniquely designed to replace that tooth and consequently the job it does in breaking down food. It will make chewing food as easy and natural as before you lost your tooth.

Other gut benefits

A happy gut is a happy brain and if you’re not chewing your food correctly you can find it hard to digest which can lead to issues with IBS, bloating, passing stools etc. When a person starts to suffer with these issues it can quickly become a catch 22 situation. When your gut is unhappy often our brains are unhappy – the brain/gut connection is very important with 90% of our happy hormone (serotonin) being made there, so if you’ve found your mood depleting along with your gut issues since your tooth loss – a dental implant could be a step towards a solution for both.

If this sounds familiar, call us at the practice to discuss oral implants with you further.

All treatment carries risks. Individual consultation is required with one of our practitioners to ensure that the treatment is right for you.