Missing Tooth Info

If you lost a tooth at the front of your mouth, you would want to look at all your options for filling that noticeable gap as quickly as possible. However, missing teeth at the back of your mouth may not receive the same urgent consideration. Here’s why you need to have a missing tooth-regardless of where it is-replaced.

A missing tooth leaves a gap in your mouth and room for surrounding teeth to drift out of position and change your bite, potentially leading to cavities, gum disease and bite problems that could cause pain in your jaw and could even lead to loss of other teeth. As you lose more teeth, you will be forced to chew on other areas, and this often leads to tooth fractures from overloading, excessive wear and /or TMJ (jaw joint) problems. Adults need to replace any missing permanent teeth to avoid these problems. As for children, if a baby tooth is lost prematurely, it is not generally replaced but the position of the remaining teeth is held with a space maintainer until the permanent tooth erupts.

As soon as a tooth is lost the bone will start to deteriorate, and the teeth on either side will shift or tip into the empty space. How fast it occurs will depend on the density of bone in the area, your bite and how well your teeth align with each other.

If you are missing one or more teeth, we encourage you to call us to discuss your best options for replacement. Early intervention will help you to avoid more extensive (and more expensive) dentistry in the future.