What happens if you have a tooth removed and don't replace it with a crown or implant

The main motivating reason for tooth restoration is usually the desire to have a beautiful smile. While that is important, there are more serious consequences of living without teeth beyond appearance.

• Changes in appearance. The dental arch can only function properly when it is completely intact. When biting and chewing food, the load is distributed evenly across the gums and teeth. The integrity of the dental arch also affects the quality of speech and the shape of the face. Without teeth, the lips begin to sink in, the contour of the cheeks becomes deformed, the smile changes, the corners of the mouth droop, nasolabial folds deepen, and new wrinkles develop. In short, without teeth, a person's face ages.
• Overloading of the remaining teeth. Each tooth in the dental arch is responsible for a certain amount of load. When the back molars are removed, the front teeth bear more load, which causes them to deteriorate faster as well. They develop cracks and change color. Due to the unexpected load, the teeth become more mobile.
• Changes in the position of the teeth. When a tooth is removed, the adjacent teeth and the tooth that was in contact with it on the opposite jaw gradually shift. This deforms the bite and can even disrupt the jaw joints.
• Bone loss. When a patient lives without teeth for a long time, bone tissue begins to shrink after about 3-5 months. This happens due to the absence of the usual load. And for implant placement, there must be enough bone volume. Therefore, the longer a person goes without a tooth, the more difficult and expensive the implant placement procedure will be.
• Development of functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Since a person missing several teeth cannot chew food as thoroughly as before, the digestive organs have to do more complex work. Over time, this leads to problems in this area.

• The number of missing teeth. In dentistry, there is a concept of partial edentulism. In this case, the patient is missing several teeth. With complete edentulism, the person has no teeth at all.
• The health of the gums. The gums cannot always serve as a support for a prosthetic structure.
• The patient's general health. This type of tooth restoration, such as implantation, has a long list of contraindications.
• The patient's preferences.

Due to various past illnesses and injuries to the maxillofacial area, people are left without several teeth. Today, dentists use several types of procedures that help restore multiple teeth at once.

Bridges

This method of restoring the dental arch is used more often than others. It is performed in cases where a person is missing 1-5 teeth. In other cases, a different approach is used.

A dental bridge consists of artificial teeth that are connected to each other. They are fixed to the patient's natural teeth. Various materials are used to make such a structure: metal, plastic, ceramic. They can be of the removable or fixed type.

To choose the type of dental bridge, you need to consult a specialist at a dental clinic. Only after collecting the necessary information and conducting a thorough diagnosis can a suitable structure be selected together with the doctor.

Implantation with Prosthetics

When a patient without teeth comes to a dental clinic, they may be offered implantation. For this, 4-6 implants are placed into the jaw, and a fixed or removable prosthesis is attached to them. This method of restoring the dental arch has a number of advantages, as aesthetics and chewing function are fully restored. But it also has disadvantages and contraindications. When such a procedure is not possible, another one is considered.

Removable Dentures

Removable dentures can be fitted for patients with complete or partial tooth loss. Although compared to implantation such structures offer a lower level of comfort during speaking or eating, they are more affordable. They also have fewer contraindications.

Acrylic or nylon is used to make removable dentures.