Loss of a tooth or few teeth and failure to replace them, would lead to a chain of ill effects on the entire dentition. They can be:
Disturbances in surrounding teeth.
Psychological & social disturbances.
Changes in facial appearance.
Nutritional disturbances.
What is the impact of teeth loss on the psychology & social life of an individual?
The impact of teeth loss on the psychological aspect of an individual can be multiple.
Loss of self confidence;
Concerns about appearance and self image;
Tooth loss as a taboo subject which could not be discussed with other people;
Keeping tooth loss secret; the need for prosthodontic privacy
Behavior change;
Premature ageing;
What are the changes in facial appearance due to teeth loss?
Teeth support lips & cheek. So, when multiple teeth are lost, lips and cheek fall back & show sunken-in appearance.
Wrinkles appear on the face, facial structure collapses making the individual look far older than his age.
Loss of muscle tone & skin elasticity due to teeth loss also affects youthful appearance.
Due to multiple teeth loss, the supporting bone gets shrunken, which in turn reduces support to the cheek.
What are the effects of missing teeth on rest of the teeth?
Loss of one or few teeth can lead to a chain of ill effects on the entire dentition
The unprotected jaw ridge can get subjected to injury due to chewing forces.
The neighboring teeth tilt into the empty space. This destroys proper functional balance.
The drifted teeth create areas of food impaction. This can lead to consequences like: decay in the drifted & adjacent teeth.
Gum diseases can begin in these faulty contact areas.
Because of abnormal teeth drifting process, the supporting bone gets affected & shrinks. This makes teeth replacement in future difficult.
The remaining teeth are loaded with excessive chewing forces and are acting in direction that can be detrimental to the stability of rest of the teeth.
The teeth opposite to the space of missing teeth might supra erupt. That is, they might move towards the opposing empty space. In the long run this loosens the opposing teeth.
