Losing molars usually does not affect the aesthetics of smiling and talking, so many people still hesitate to find a solution immediately. However, this condition is quite dangerous if molars are lost for a long time. Because it not only affects oral health but also causes the face to age. Therefore, if you are unfortunate enough to lose molars, you should treat them as soon as possible, do not leave them for too long because it will cause many serious consequences.
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1. What is the role of molars?
Molars, also known as molars, are the teeth that grow in the back of both sides of the jaw. Molars play a very important role in protecting the jaw bone and tearing and crushing food before it enters the body. This helps to limit diseases related to the digestive tract.
Molars also play a role in creating harmony, balance and aesthetics of the face as well as helping you pronounce words accurately and clearly. If you lose molars, there will be gaps, the sound will be difficult to hear, making it difficult for the other person to understand what you are saying.
2. Causes of molar tooth loss
Some common causes of molar loss:
- Poor oral hygiene
Poor oral hygiene is one of the leading causes of tooth loss, accounting for up to 80%. This condition is manifested through actions such as forgetting to brush your teeth or brushing your teeth carelessly, not changing your toothbrush regularly, not rinsing your mouth thoroughly after eating, and not scaling your teeth every 6 months… These habits cause plaque to accumulate bacteria, which over time causes tooth decay and tooth loss.
- Due to improper diet
If you lack nutrients such as calcium and potassium in your daily meals, your teeth will become weak and no longer strong. When your teeth are weak and you have to chew continuously, especially tough, hard foods, your teeth will become loose and fall out.
In addition, regularly consuming sugary foods and drinks such as candy, soft drinks, etc. without cleaning them properly can cause tooth erosion, weaken tooth enamel, and make tooth decay more likely, which over time will lead to tooth loss.
- Due to bad habits
Some bad habits in daily life such as grinding teeth, using teeth to open bottle caps, biting nails… can easily cause teeth to chip or break, creating an opportunity for bacteria to attack the inside of the teeth.
Especially with the habit of smoking regularly, teeth will be more prone to breakage. Because nicotine in cigarette smoke destroys the immune system in the oral cavity, creating cavities in the gums and attacking the jaw bone. This leads to a high risk of tooth loss.
- Due to age
Age is also a cause of permanent tooth loss. The older you get, the weaker your oral health becomes due to osteoporosis. At the same time, the immune system in the elderly gradually declines, no longer able to fight harmful bacteria, making it easy to get oral diseases such as periodontitis, tooth decay, gingivitis, etc. If not treated promptly, it will lead to tooth loss in the elderly.
- Due to injury, accident
Some external impacts such as trauma, accidents or strong sports activities that exert great force on the teeth can cause the jaw structure to become misaligned, leading to a high risk of tooth loss.
- Due to other diseases
Patients with diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, etc. often have weaker and more susceptible to tooth loss than normal people.
3. Does losing a molar have any consequences?
Long-term loss of molars, if not treated, will cause serious consequences such as:
- Causes premature aging of the face
The jawbone area in the tooth-loss area will gradually deteriorate over time without being affected by chewing force. At this time, the skin around that area will sag, wrinkle, causing premature aging, making the face look older.
- Weaken surrounding teeth
Loss of molars causes chewing force to be unevenly distributed. Over time, the teeth around the area of the missing tooth gradually weaken and are susceptible to diseases such as tooth decay, jaw pain, misaligned bite, etc.
- Adversely affects the digestive system
The main role of molars is to grind food. When molars (number 6 or number 7) are lost, it will greatly affect the digestive system. Because the food is not ground, the digestive system will have to work harder to metabolize and absorb food, which can cause inflammation and pain over time.
- Displace other teeth
When a molar is lost, a gap will appear in the jaw. At this time, the surrounding teeth will shift and tilt towards the gap due to the force supporting the lost teeth. At the same time, the teeth opposite the lost teeth also tend to move up and down.
- Unclear pronunciation
People who lose teeth will have difficulty communicating, sometimes find it difficult to pronounce words clearly, and are prone to lisping.
4. What to do if you lose a molar?
If you are unfortunate enough to lose a molar for some reason, you should find a way to fix it as soon as possible to protect your oral health and general health. Currently, there are 2 popular solutions to restore lost molars that you can refer to, which are:
4.1. Dental Implant
Implantation is the most optimal solution for tooth loss restoration today, effectively overcoming the disadvantages of previous methods. Implantation is performed by placing a Titanium pillar inside the jawbone. When the pillar and jawbone integrate, a meticulously crafted porcelain crown will be placed on top through the Abutment joint. After implantation, your teeth will be restored in both chewing function and aesthetics.
Advantage:
- Applicable to all cases of tooth loss from 1 tooth, 2 teeth to the entire jaw
- Completely overcome jaw bone loss and misalignment of surrounding teeth with artificial tooth roots
- This is an independent dental implant solution that does not impact or abrade adjacent teeth, helping to minimize the risk of further tooth loss.
- Firm restoration, does not come off when eating or talking
- Good compatibility, no irritation in the oral cavity thanks to the use of high-quality, benign materials
- Implant teeth have a long lifespan, up to 20 years or forever if restored and cared for properly.
Limit:
- Implantation time is longer than other methods because you have to wait for the jawbone to integrate with the implant.
- The cost of implementation is higher than other options but only needs to be done once.
4.2. Porcelain bridge
A dental bridge is a fixed dental implant solution used to replace one or more missing teeth. A dental bridge is made by grinding down two teeth next to the missing tooth to act as pillars to support the bridge. Then, a series of porcelain bridges consisting of many porcelain teeth are made to stick together and are firmly attached to the bridge pillars with dental cement. The middle porcelain tooth will be used to replace the missing tooth.
The condition for making a porcelain bridge is that the two adjacent teeth used as bridge pillars must be healthy, not suffering from oral diseases or misaligned.
Advantage:
- Fixed porcelain bridges are more stable and sturdy than removable dentures.
- Fast implementation time, only takes about 3-5 days after 2 dental appointments
- Higher aesthetics and chewing ability compared to removable dentures
- Quite safe for the body
Limit:
- Cannot overcome jaw bone loss and facial deformity due to only having the tooth crown, no tooth root underneath.
- Having to grind down 2 adjacent real teeth to make a bridge can easily damage the pulp, leading to possible loss of 2 more teeth.
- It is easy to get tooth sensitivity and gingivitis after tooth grinding if not properly cared for.
- Only applicable in case of loss of 1 tooth or several teeth
- The cost of implementation is quite high but the lifespan is low, only about 7 – 10 years.
- When one of the two bridge pillars is damaged and cannot support the bridge, another replacement method must be applied.
Long-term loss of molars causes many serious consequences for oral health and general health. Therefore, if you are unfortunate enough to lose molars, you should find a suitable remedy as soon as possible to restore chewing function to your teeth. Thereby helping to improve the quality of life.
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