What happens if you don't fill your lost teeth?

The importance of teeth is self-evident, but in daily life, teeth often get impacted or knocked out. Losing a tooth has a huge impact, and the most common way to deal with it is to fill it. However, after a long period of adaptation, many people find that the impact is definitely not that big, so they don’t want to go through the trouble of filling another tooth. So, what happens if a tooth falls out and is not replaced? Let’s take a look below.

Old face

Teeth play an important role in maintaining the appearance of the face, especially the front teeth, which have a great impact on facial beauty. Missing front teeth can make a person look less youthful and older. In addition, when most or all teeth are missing, the cheeks lose support and sink inward, the lips are no longer plump, facial wrinkles increase, nasolabial grooves deepen, the corners of the mouth sink, and the face appears visibly aged.

After teeth are lost, the first thing that deteriorates is the chewing function, and the extent of the impact is related to the location and number of missing teeth. Missing front teeth will affect the ability to bite off food, while missing back teeth will affect the ability to grind food. When the chewing function is reduced, food that has not been fully ground and mashed will directly enter the gastrointestinal tract, which will greatly increase the burden on the digestive system and affect the absorption of nutrients. If this continues for a long time, it may even cause digestive system diseases. In addition, if all teeth are missing, it will be difficult to close the lips firmly and swallowing food will become difficult.

The remaining teeth suffered

When a tooth is missing, the task of chewing falls on other teeth. At the same time, due to the existence of the gap left by the missing tooth, the adjacent teeth also lose their restraint and support, which greatly increases the burden on the remaining teeth. If it is not repaired for a long time, it may cause the adjacent teeth to tilt and the teeth that occlude with them to elongate, which may lead to caries and periodontal disease, further aggravating the damage to the remaining teeth. When there are fewer remaining teeth, they will bear too much bite force, which will cause rapid loss of alveolar bone, loosening of teeth or even falling out. The longer the missing teeth are and the greater the number of missing teeth is, the greater the impact will be on the remaining teeth.

Missing teeth, especially missing front teeth, can cause unclear pronunciation, commonly known as "speaking with a leaky tongue." Unclear pronunciation can have a significant impact on patients’ communication activities and even affect their mental health.

Joint injuries

After a tooth is missing, the chewing function of the missing tooth side is reduced, and the patient may develop the habit of chewing only with the other side. In addition, if the number of missing teeth is large or the missing time is long, the remaining teeth may be tilted or elongated, causing occlusal interference and resulting in a disordered occlusal relationship. These will affect the stability of the temporomandibular joint and cause joint damage.