Hello, my name is Simon. I am a 59-year-old man who lives alone in downtown Perth. I am pleased to say that I have never had to spend a night in a hospital. This is because I know how to take care of myself. When I was growing up my grandpa often used to tell me that if you eat well and exercise, you will live a long life. He died aged 95, so he must have known something. However, it was only when I became friends with a doctor, that I discovered all the other things I could do to stay healthy. I decided to start this blog to encourage others to look after their health.
When you have missing teeth in the back of your mouth, it often seems like it isn't a big deal to replace them. However, whether or not you can actually see the missing teeth is not the only thing to consider when deciding if you should replace the teeth. In fact, all teeth that are broken or pulled or that fall out should be replaced eventually. Here are some reasons why you should talk to your dentist about replacing your missing back teeth.
Your Other Teeth Can Shift
The thing that keeps your teeth in place over time is having neighboring teeth next to them that hold them in position. When you have a missing tooth, no matter where it is located in your mouth, the teeth that are next to that gap can then start shifting. This does happen gradually, so you have some time before you replace the tooth, but don't put it off for too long. When the shifting begins, it might eventually cause issues with misalignment of your teeth, perhaps even affecting your front teeth. Suddenly you need braces to correct your front teeth all because a tooth in the back of your mouth was missing and never replaced.
It Is Easier to Chew
Don't forget that when one of your molars is missing, it affects how you chew. While you bite with your front teeth, the majority of chewing occurs with your back molars. Even if it seems like one missing tooth won't be a big deal, you may soon discover that is not the case. You become limited with what you can chew, and if you only chew on the other side of your mouth, those teeth will soon become sore from being overused. It is better to replace the missing tooth, even if you just go with a partial denture or dental bridge.
You May Experience Bone Loss
This is something not many people are aware of until it happens to them. When you have a missing tooth and don't replace it with a dental implant, you could eventually lose the jawbone where that tooth once was. When this occurs, not only does it make it hard to get an implant if you decide on one in the future, but you could experience other dental issues as well. While it is definitely better to go with a dental bridge or dentures for a missing tooth instead of ignoring it completely, dental implants are the only way to replace a missing tooth and protect the bone at the same time.
Share20 January 2017
