Do I need to replace missing back teeth?
People lose their teeth for a number of reasons. Whether it is from trauma, dental decay, pulp infection, gum infection, cracked tooth, root fracture or advanced gun disease. Some people don’t care too much about replacing a back tooth because “you cant see it”. However, that missing tooth will cause you problems over time that you don’t even realise.
Firstly, once a tooth is extracted, the surrounding bone will heal and remodel and it will start to shrink away. It is most pronounced in the first 4-6 months but will continue to shrink away over your lifetime. The longer you have your teeth missing, the thinner will be your jaw bone. Some people report feeling like their face have “sunken in”.
The remaining teeth will start to move into the space. The teeth on either side will start to drift and tilt into the space and the opposing tooth will start erupting into that space. This could be a problem aesthetically, because you’ll find over time your other teeth will start becoming crooked and gaps start appearing. Functionally, you’ll find that your bite will start to change as your teeth move and it will create occlusal interference. Occlusal interference may cause extra stress on your jaw joints and damaging it over time. You may notice it by clicking and popping sounds and pain in the joint. Once this has occurred, it is very difficult to fix.
Having a missing tooth will put extra stress on the surrounding teeth because it is no longer present to support the occlusion. For instance, imagine a house having stumps to support it’s weight. If you were to have a few stumps missing, the remaining stumps will have to carry more weight because they no longer have the support of those missing stumps. Over time, the remaining stumps will start to break down because they are carrying more weight than what they are supposed to. The same thing will happen your remaining teeth, especially if you have missing molars because they are your biggest teeth and they support most weight. The surrounding teeth break down by cracks, fractures, excessive wear and tilting sideways so they are no longer vertical.
Dental implants will place your missing teeth in a way that is comfortable and long lasting. Unlike having a plate, it will feel natural because it doesn’t have large bulk components to it. The titanium implant will replace the root of the tooth and an implant crown is made to attach to the implant. Unlike a bridge, it is not joined to the adjacent teeth so it is easier to clean, it’s independent and looks more natural. Dental implants is the only treatment that has shown to be able to maintain bone in that area, so the bone will not continually resorb away.
Dental implants are done here at Gisborne Smiles. We see patients from all surrounding areas from Gisborne, Woodend, Macedon, Riddells Creek, New Gisborne, Sunbury, Melton, Diggers Rest, Toolen Vale, Bacchus Marsh. We have the experience and knowledge to help you with your dental implant needs. If you are looking for dental implants in Gisborne, give us a call now on ph 98802363 to see how we can help you.
Call us now on ph: 9880 2363 for an appointment.