Tooth loss is a serious issue. It can occur when a cavity has invaded too far into a tooth to be fixed, bone loss around the tooth is too severe to hold the tooth in any longer or trauma knocks the tooth out. What most people don't realize is that when a permanent tooth is lost, it can create a domino effect that could harm the entire area around it. The teeth on either side collapse toward the space over time, the tooth opposing it will drift into the space and the bite forces become unbalanced. Neighboring teeth take on more brunt of the force that they are designed to. There are several ways to replace missing teeth depending on where they are in the mouth and what is around them. In general, there are three ways: some type of denture or removable appliance, a fixed bridge which connects adjacent teeth or a dental implant. A dental implant is a small titanium peg shaped screw with a special coating that is similar to the material bone is made of so it fools the body into thinking that the implant is bone and heals around it and fuses to it.