What Are the Consequences of Not Replacing Missing Teeth?

Missing teeth are those teeth in the mouth that are absent or lost. There may be many reasons of missing teeth such as decay, injury or an oral disease. The problem of missing teeth can impact wide range of functions such as chewing, speaking and overall appearance. There are many solutions of this problem such as dentures, tooth replacement, dental bridges, and tooth replacement. But dental implants is the best solutions for the missing teeth problem so far.

Possible consequences of replacing missing teeth:

Jaw Bone Loss:

Because of missing teeth, the jawbone beneath them starts to deteriorate over time. This process of deterioration is known as bone resorption. When teeth chew food, they apply natural pressure and stimulation that breaks the bone tissue to be reabsorbed by the body. Chewing helps keeping the jawbone strong and without a tooth to chew with the bone can break down and lose it density. This can result in the change of shape of your face. You should not delay in replacing missing teeth as it will help prevent the bone loss, thus keeping your jawbone strong. Sometimes delaying the replacement of missing teeth can make it harder to get dental implants as they need healthy jaw bone for the installation.

Shifting Of Adjacent Teeth:

When you have missing teeth, the adjacent teeth begin to shift into the empty space gradually. Teeth have a natural tendency to try to move to fill any gaps in their surroundings. This movement of teeth can cause misalignment and jaw pain. This misalignment of teeth can cause problems with biting, thus making it harder to chew or speak properly. Eventually this can also create a domino effect, impacting several teeth thus requiring more in-depth dental work.

Gum Problems:

Missing teeth can cause problems for your gums and surrounding tissues. Gap caused by missing teeth can cause the gums to shrink because of no tooth root as a support. This makes the gums at the risk of infection or irritation. When you chew the food without teeth, the pressure is not spread evenly, thus it can put extra stress on the remaining teeth and gums. Moreover these gaps can accumulate food particles and bacteria in the open place. This put the gums and surrounding teeth at the risk of decay and gum infections.

Functional Impairment:

When teeth are missing, it becomes harder to chew food properly. This can make digestion difficult and may even lead to avoiding certain foods which may result in poor nutrition. Missing teeth may also affect your speech, making it difficult to pronounce certain words properly.

Social Impact:

Missing teeth may also have a deep impact on the social life of a person. Individuals with missing teeth may feel embarrass or self-consciousness in public, leading them to avoid social interactions. This can impact their relationships, professional calibre, and social inclusion as they hesitate to talk to other people or smile openly and freely. Missing teeth also impact self-confidence of people as they are always conscious of being judged in a negative way. All this impact the mental health and quality of life of an individual with missing teeth.

Additional Cost:

If you delay the treatment of missing teeth for a longer period may result in more complex and costly dental treatments in the future. This delay can cause misalignment of teeth which may result in bite problems or pain in jaw. To treat the misalignment you may need to visit an orthodontist, thus it will add to the overall cost. Furthermore another problem that may occur by delaying in missing teeth treatment is loss of jaw bone. In this condition there may be the need of dental procedures such as bone grafting. This will also increase the financial burden on the patient.