Dear all,
Tooth replacement after its extraction is mandatory as it can have alarming consequences in future.
- For each missing tooth, you lose approximately 10% of your remaining ability to chew food.
- The teeth adjacent to the space left by the missing tooth will eventually shift. If for example, a lower tooth is extracted, the opposing tooth in the upper jaw will grow slowly longer in a downward direction into the missing tooth space. This is called extrusion or supereruption. - The teeth on either side of the missing tooth space will move and tilt off and drift into the missing tooth’s space. This can make these teeth more prone to decay and gum disease because it is much harder to keep the teeth clean when they are not aligned properly.
- Root structure that is normally covered by gum and bone may become exposed. All this can happen if one tooth is lost.
- With collapsed bite and loss of vertical dimension, the distance from your chin to the tip of your nose decreases, making your face shorter.
- The facial muscles of the cheeks and mouth sink into the edentulous (extraction) site. There can also be severe cosmetic problems when the extracted tooth’s space is visible when you talk or smile. This is not a pretty sight to anyone.
There is loss of self-image and self-esteem and a feeling that you are getting old. Once you start losing teeth, you can actually start to look old. Losing a tooth is pretty serious. The longer you wait after a tooth is extracted, the more difficult and expensive it can become to make the replacement you need.