Why You Should Restore Missing Back Teeth

By Author: Marilyn Calvo
Total Articles: 3
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A patient came in last week for a scheduled oral prophylaxis (cleaning) appointment. She has just moved into the city and switched dentists. Normally, I would go for a full dental check up or ask for prior dental records but she was heading off to a scheduled vacation and we can only fit this one appointment in between.

Anyway, as I was cleaning her teeth, I noticed that she was missing one of her back teeth. I advised to her to get a dental implant or a permanent bridge for this and she was not convinced it was necessary because it ‘never gave her any problems'.

Oh boy, I knew this argument only too well because so many other patients don't realize the importance of having missing their back teeth replaced. Most people think that just because it's not visible (like missing front teeth) it's not an issue.

Anyway, I told her to think about it during her vacation and left her with this thought: did she think there was more space between her other teeth because of this missing back tooth?

After her 3-week vacation, she came back and said that now that I mentioned it, she DOES think there's more ...
... space between her other teeth than before and asked for more info about the downside of missing posterior teeth.

The Importance of a Full Set of Back Teeth

As far as looks are concerned, you may not think that a missing tooth at the back of your mouth makes any difference. But the thing to consider here is not aesthetics but function.

If you are missing a back tooth, this means that the remaining teeth have to do ‘more work' when you're chewing food. This in turn hastens their wear and tear.

Further, consider the constant pushing against your teeth as you chew. Since there is a void left by the missing tooth, it's only natural that the other teeth are slowly put out of their original position, creating gaps between them.

This ‘shifting' occurs slowly that's why it takes some time before you fully realize that there are gaps between your other teeth. However, consider that your teeth should NOT be moving so far apart from each other in the first place. And so when this occurs, it's classified as abnormal tooth movement on your jaw bone. Over time, this can result in your remaining teeth being more prone to dental problems.

Also, your upper and lower teeth rest against each other when you close your mouth. If, say, an upper tooth has nothing to rest against, then over time, your upper tooth may come out of its socket and into the empty space.

This is just for one missing tooth. If you have more, then as the years go by, your mouth may be ‘over closing', which may give your face a shorter look (i.e., reduced facial height).

Also, don't forget that teeth placement affects the way we produce sound. So if a prominent back tooth is missing, it may affect how you speak and pronounce certain words.

So if you've got a back tooth (or back teeth) missing too, do get in touch with your dentists before it's too late.

About Author : Marilyn Calvo DDS is an author of Marilyncalvo.com; Visit (http://www.marilyncalvo.com/) for more information about Why You Should Restore Missing Back Teeth.