It's common for adults to lose a back molar, often to gum disease, tooth decay, or injury. Since back molars don't affect the overall appearance of your smile, you might be tempted to skip replacing it. That's not the best idea. Missing a tooth, even just one, can cause severe and permanent damage to your entire mouth.
Back Molars Preserve Jaw Bone Density
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.
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.
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.
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.
Even if you can't see your back teeth, they are important in maintaining your smile's healthy function. Many patients who lose one or more back teeth think they don't need to replace them because they can't be seen, but replacing any missing tooth is essential to keep your smile whole and healthy.
Wisdom teeth — the third molars in the very back of your mouth — may not need to be removed if they are: Healthy. Grown in completely (fully erupted) Positioned correctly and biting properly with their opposing teeth.
A broken tooth shouldn't be left untreated. Even if a broken tooth doesn't hurt or isn't bothering you, it can put you at risk for other more serious issues if not corrected quickly.
If the tooth is broken at the gumline and has a big cavity that goes down to the bone then there is little hope that the tooth can be saved.
Losing molars makes the surrounding teeth no longer support, thereby causing great pressure on the jaw, causing jaw muscle pain, temporomandibular joint pain, headache, neck pain. The teeth on the side tend to move into the space of the missing molar, the opposing teeth will also recede or protrude excessively.
However, from a functional and developmental point of view, the first molars (the first large posterior teeth behind the premolars) are the most important teeth. Teeth play a vital role in the appearance and symmetry of the face. They play a key role in occlusion, or how your jaw closes and lines up.
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.
Molars are very important for eating. While your canine and front teeth bite and tear food into pieces, the back teeth are meant for chewing. They are responsible for breaking down food before swallowing. In fact, they're the teeth most often in contact with food after that initial bite.
A dead nerve in a tooth is sometimes referred to as a necrotic pulp or a pulpless tooth. Once this happens, the tooth will eventually fall out by itself. However, it can be dangerous to wait for this to occur, as the tooth can become infected and affect the jaw and other teeth.
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.
A broken molar is a potential dental emergency, especially when associated with severe pain. Even asymptomatic fractures require immediate medical attention as they can complicate and lead to teeth loss.
Ideally, patients should schedule a visit to have the cracked tooth treated within a few days after the crack occurs and no more than two weeks after the incident. If symptoms begin to worsen, an emergency visit to the dentist for immediate care is most likely necessary.
If a molar is only half-broken, it can usually be fixed in one of two ways. If the break is relatively minor and the edges are still intact, your dentist may be able to bond the broken pieces back together. If the damage is more severe, they may need to use a dental crown or filling material to cover the break.
If you didn't have any teeth, you would obviously still be able to speak, but pronouncing certain sounds would be more difficult, making you more likely to butcher up your words.
Some say leave healthy teeth alone
We often tell patients that if their wisdom teeth are healthy and not causing any issues, they don't necessarily need to be extracted. That means your third molars can stay if they are: Healthy and don't show signs of decay. Fully erupted through the gums.
The procedure for extracting multiple teeth at once is a bit more complicated than a simple single tooth extraction. You can live without one or two teeth without major consequences, but losing several teeth at once requires the jawbone to be reshaped to prepare for a dental bridge or dentures.
Tooth loss does more than impact the appeal of your smile, especially if you lose your front tooth. It affects your ability to eat and chew properly, as well as how you communicate. It may also lead to confidence issues and low self-esteem.
Behind the bicuspids will be two (three including the wisdom teeth) sets of full molars. These teeth are never replaced. The first adult molar can arrive around age 6-7 behind the baby molars. Some parents may be confused and assume that these new molars will fall out at some point, but they won't.
Missing teeth are the results of increased maternal age, low birth weight, multiple births and early exposure to certain infections, trauma, or drugs. Hypodontia or CMT (Congenitally Missing Teeth) usually is the result of genetic disorders such as ectodermal dysplasia or Down syndrome.