Recognized as one of the leading board certified periodontists in the United States, Dr. Jason C. Stoner, DDS, MS, has performed more than 10,000 dental implant surgeries.

As an Amazon bestselling author of the books LANAP Laser Gum Surgery and Dental Implants Columbus, Dr. Stoner enjoys sharing his expertise by writing easy to read books for patients so they are fully informed about all the options available to revitalize their oral health.

"A fully restored smile fully restores confidence. Handing back to a patient something that they thought they had lost forever is a wonderful gift to give, and is why I never tire of my work. If you take anything away from this book I hope that it is a belief that, no matter what your dental concerns might be, there is a solution out there that can restore what you have lost."
- Dr. Jason C. Stoner, DDS, MS in Columbus, Ohio

Imagine for a moment that you are a chef working in a frantically-busy kitchen in Columbus, Ohio's finest restaurant. You are feverishly slicing onions when your co-worker accidentally nudges you from behind and you slice through your index finger. Ouch!

Apologies for the mental image I've just conjured up, especially if you're squeamish, but I need you to envision this scenario for a moment and think about how you'd react.

Now, why do many consider a tooth to be less valuable than a finger?

Perhaps it's something to do with the fact that we have a mouth full of teeth, and one less doesn't appear, on the surface, to be too disastrous.

Or maybe it's just a matter of cost. Fixing a missing tooth is mainly viewed as a cosmetic issue and so it may not feel like a priority. Especially if the tooth that's come out is towards the back of the mouth and the gap isn't visible when we smile.

A missing tooth should be considered every bit as serious as an injured finger, hand, foot or any other appendage. Here's why...YOU WILL EVENTUALLY LOSE MORE TEETH.

There are two reasons for this. The first is that when you lose a tooth you are requiring the rest of your teeth to do more work while you're chewing food. This increases wear and the risk of damage to the rest of your teeth.

The second reason you are likely to lose additional teeth is that the bone structure around your teeth depends on activity to maintain its strength. When you lose a tooth, the bone structure around the area starts to deteriorate, weakening the support of the healthy teeth in that area.

These two factors combined are the reason why one missing tooth can easily become several missing teeth and is the core reason why you should not treat this kind of injury as insignificant.