MISSING BACK TEETH

Why Replace a Missing Back Tooth?

If you do not replace an extracted back tooth with a fixed replacement tooth, you could end up losing all your teeth. The following text will explain the series of events that take place once a back tooth is extracted.

The extraction of a back tooth (a chewing tooth) creates a gap. The opposing molar tooth is now useless because it no longer has a tooth to chew against.

Therefore, losing one tooth can result in the loss of the use of two teeth. Losing two teeth can result in the loss of the use of four, and so on.

Back teeth have a life long tendency to erupt (keep growing), tilt (lean over) and to drift towards the front of the mouth.

So as a tooth is extracted the opposing tooth over erupts into its space, the teeth further back tilt and drift into the missing tooth space. The resulting unevenness among the back teeth creates areas that trap food debris and plaque.

Tilted teeth soon develop gum pockets along their front root. Gum pockets are abnormal deep & narrow spaces that form between the gums and the root surface. Gum pockets trap food debris and bacteria. They are very difficult to clean effectively and are therefore constantly inflamed. The jaw bone immediately adjacent to constantly inflamed gums will also become inflamed.

Inflamed jaw bone softens and slowly begins to disappear. This is called periodontal disease and leads to tooth looseness and eventual tooth loss.

In this hostile environment of plaque, gum and periodontal diseases, decay will soon follow especially on the exposed roots of the over erupted teeth. Unchecked decay allows bacteria to enter the pulps (nerves) of teeth. This will lead to abscesses, which with the now increased looseness of the teeth (mobility), necessitates their extraction.

Failure to replace a single molar tooth may start a chain of events: over eruption, tilting, drifting, gum pockets, jaw bone disease, bone loss and looseness of teeth and tooth decay. Over the years, in extreme cases, this could lead to loss of all the teeth.

Replacing a missing tooth early, could avoid unwanted anxiety, discomfort and pain, and unnecessary expense in the future.