Your back teeth protect your front teeth by doing the job they are designed to do. Their loss means the front (visible) teeth will have to do extra work that they are not designed to do. So if you want to keep your front teeth looking healthy in your smile you should try to avoid the loss of your back teeth.
Throughout a person's lifetime, bone mass is continually broken down and new bone mass is produced. If you lack one or more back molars, the jaw bone won't have enough stimulation from chewing and it will produce insufficient new bone mass to replace the bone that is naturally broken down.
Your surrounding teeth will lack the required support. Additionally, lack of stimulation in the location leads the bone and surrounding structure to deteriorate. Gradually, remaining teeth will also lose support and begin shifting.
They essentially prevent every problem listed above by replacing your missing tooth just about perfectly. If you're missing a back tooth, it can be tempting to not replace it since it's not visible. However, it's well worth it to get a dental implant to fill the gap in your mouth.
After you undergo a tooth extraction, you will need to replace the missing tooth or teeth. If the teeth are not replaced, the bones in your mouth can weaken and lose density. Other teeth also might shift, and you might experience trouble eating. Fortunately, you have several replacement options for missing teeth.
Any number of missing teeth can cause serious oral and overall health issues. Ultimately, tooth loss begets more tooth loss. So, if you have just one missing tooth, it's very likely that more will follow if it isn't replaced.
Each one plays an important role in chewing and grinding up food. Back teeth encourage an even bite, which reduces strain on the jaw and extra pressure on the front teeth. Over time, eating with a missing back molar can wear down the remaining teeth and cause them to chip or crack.
As a general rule, teeth will move around if there is free space to fill. Teeth shifting is particularly common after molar extraction because molars are so large. There is a larger gap in your smile for other teeth to move into. Shifting can even occur after third molar extraction, aka wisdom teeth removal.
Molar extractions are a common cause of teeth shifts. When an oral surgeon removes your molars, your surrounding teeth tend to move toward the vacant space in your mouth. Whenever space opens in your mouth, your teeth will move near it.
Untreated tooth loss sets the stage for other oral health problems to follow. It increases your risk of gum disease and bacterial infections. It also changes the alignment of your remaining teeth. When you don't fill a gap in your smile, the neighboring teeth will shift toward each other.
While you'll be able to return to routine activities within 48 to 72 hours, it usually takes the jawbone several weeks to heal completely. Therefore, if you're planning on replacing the tooth with a dental implant, you'll probably need to wait a few months to allow for full recovery.
Many of the front teeth are round, so they can be removed without damaging bone quite easily. However most of your back teeth have two or three roots and cannot just be “pulled out” without breaking something.
This includes eight molars, two at each end of each arch. Our third molars, what we call wisdom teeth, usually come in during our late teens or early 20s, although if they are impacted, they might never fully come in. In the end, we should have 32 teeth.
In fact, if you do lose a back tooth, does it really matter that much, as, after all, it can't be seen, and do you even need to restore it? The answer might surprise you, as unless it is a wisdom tooth, its loss does matter, and yes, you definitely need to replace it.
Maybe your mouth is too small to make room for them, or the teeth could be growing at an angle to other teeth. They can damage the tooth next door if they push up against it. Some dentists take out healthy molars to prevent problems later on. As you age, the bones in your mouth get harder.
Impacted wisdom teeth happen when your third molars become partially or fully trapped in your gums or jawbone. This can lead to a number of oral health problems, including infection, tooth decay and gum disease. Surgical removal is often recommended as treatment for impacted wisdom teeth.
It would be best to replace missing teeth as soon as possible to prevent tooth shifting. However, if you have a tooth extracted, it is advised to wait four to six months to have the tooth replaced. All in all, this interval gives your gums time to heal before performing another operation.
While wisdom teeth extraction doesn't affect your smile or face shape, the extraction of other teeth does. The roots of your other teeth form part of the structure of the basal jaw bone or maxilla, which are responsible for the shape of your chin (at the bottom) and the shape of your nose and eye sockets (on the top).
In addition to your smile being compromised, losing molars and premolars also interferes with chewing your food properly. The more teeth you lose, the more chewing surface disappears and that means your food is not being chewed properly.
Hypodontia is actually one of the most common developmental abnormalities in dentistry, ranking right up there with double teeth or having an extra tooth. It's so common that up to 20% of all adults are missing at least one tooth!
Children lose their molars between ages 10 to 12. Adult molars come in around the age of 13. By age 21, all 32 permanent teeth have usually erupted. If a youngster loses a baby tooth early from decay or an accident, it could create problems for permanent teeth.
What is the most difficult tooth to extract? Impacted wisdom teeth are wisdom teeth that have failed to erupt properly. They are generally considered to be the most difficult teeth to extract. The higher the degree of impaction, the more difficult the extraction.
You will get a local anesthetic to numb the area around the tooth so you do not feel pain. Your dentist may loosen the tooth in the gum using a tooth removal instrument called an elevator. Your dentist will then place forceps around the tooth and pull the tooth out from the gum.
Is a tooth extraction painful? Not necessarily. While the extraction may hurt if you are under the effects of nitrous oxide, you should not be in excruciating pain. For more serious extractions, you will need stronger painkillers such as oral sedatives or anesthesia.