What are the hazards of missing teeth without remedy?

Hello! The adverse effect of tooth defect on patients is obvious. The degree of influence varies with the number, location and time of missing teeth.

(A) the impact on chewing function

The loss of anterior teeth affects the cutting function. The loss of posterior teeth has a great influence on masticatory function. When individual posterior teeth are missing, the teeth adjacent to the missing area will make up part of the chewing function of the missing teeth, which has little effect on the chewing efficiency in the short term, which is also the reason why some patients have not repaired in time after individual teeth are missing. If individual posterior teeth are missing for a long time and are not repaired, a series of changes will occur in oral tissue, which will affect chewing function. After dentition defect, the integrity of dentition is destroyed, and adjacent missing teeth are lost through the interdependence of adjacent points. The clinical manifestation is that the adjacent teeth are inclined to the edentulous side, which makes the edentulous space smaller. After the adjacent teeth are tilted, the relationship between the proximal and distal abutment teeth is lost, and food impaction and caries occur; Due to the long-term lack of support, the guide teeth are elongated, leading to early contact or fetal interference and occlusion dysfunction. When multiple posterior teeth are missing, the function of grinding food is reduced or completely lost.

(B) the impact on beauty

Because of the support of teeth and alveolar bone to facial soft tissue, and the normal dental arch and occlusion relationship, the natural appearance of the face can be maintained. A pair of neat white teeth gives a beautiful and healthy impression. The loss of anterior teeth has a great influence on the aesthetics of patients. When many teeth in the dentition are missing, the alveolar bone in the missing area lacks the physiological stimulation of jaw force and the alveolar bone shrinks. The support of teeth and alveolar bone to the soft tissues of lips and cheeks is lost, and the facial soft tissues are depressed. When bilateral posterior teeth are missing and occlusion loses its supporting function, its appearance changes like toothless collar, which is characterized by obvious facial wrinkles, deepening labial and buccal grooves and nasolabial grooves, and aging appearance.

(3) Effect on periodontal tissue

If the missing teeth are not repaired for a long time, because of the displacement of the teeth, the adjacent teeth will tilt to the gap side, and the occlusal teeth will elongate and lose the supporting contact relationship with the adjacent teeth, resulting in food impaction, which will eventually lead to the disorder of tooth arrangement and occlusal relationship. After dentition is missing, the chewing function is completed by a few remaining teeth, which makes them bear too much resultant force and heavy burden, and the periodontal tissue is diseased due to trauma.

(D) the impact on pronunciation

Teeth, lips and tongue are all involved in pronunciation and speech, and they are closely related. The position of teeth limits the range of activities of the tongue when pronouncing, and the positional relationship between the tongue, lips and teeth, which is of great significance to the accuracy of pronunciation and the clarity of speech. The loss of individual teeth in dentition has little effect on pronunciation function. However, when there are many missing teeth, especially the missing front teeth, it has a great influence on the sound of lips, tongues and teeth. When pronouncing the above syllables, the air flow is not completely controlled when escaping, and the air flow generates friction through the gap between the teeth. At the same time, due to the lack of teeth, the tongue loses its normal ability to move when pronouncing, so the pronunciation is not clear.

(5) Effect on temporomandibular joint.

Long-term failure to repair teeth will lead to disorder of occlusal relationship, hinder the normal progress of occlusal movement, form unilateral chewing habits, or cause imbalance of masticatory muscle tension; When there are many missing teeth and the remaining teeth cannot maintain the vertical distance, the masticatory muscles must be excessively contracted to make the upper and lower teeth contact. Over time, the masticatory muscles are tired, the bare process moves backward, and the posterior joint area is compressed, resulting in joint pain, limited mouth opening, joint snapping and other symptoms of temporomandibular joint diseases.

(vi) Psychological impact on patients

The loss of dentition has a great psychological impact on patients. Especially the young patients with natural white teeth and neat arrangement, because of missing front teeth, air leakage and unclear pronunciation, their psychological damage is even greater. Patients have an indescribable inferiority complex, which is characterized by being withdrawn, unwilling to associate with others and unwilling to participate in social activities. When they see a doctor, they often show pain, depression and melancholy, have high expectations for new prostheses, and have high requirements for the shape, color and position of finished prostheses. When accepting this kind of patients in clinic, we should first comfort the patients, introduce the advantages and disadvantages of various prostheses in detail, eliminate the psychological burden of the patients, and then make the perfect prosthesis as much as possible according to the specific conditions of the patients.