Leaving aside what constitutes proper chewing of food in the digestion process, this paper will discuss the consequences of not replace teeth that we lose with dental implants, regardless of the cause.
The muscles of mastication are the major players in the movement of the jaw, and exert a very large force at the site of contact jaws (teeth). Normal is that this burden is shared between all the teething, but when teeth are lost which are loaded with all the strength.
The most important consequences of these excessive forces are possible cracks or excessive wear of remaining teeth, the migration of the adjacent teeth and antagonists (greater as time passes) and the pathology of temporomandibular joint dysfunction due to generated for not having properly placed teeth in place (which can lead to TMJ treatment Physiotherapy)
The fit between the teeth above and below should be very good, otherwise, these abnormal forces cause orthodontic effect on adjacent teeth is lost, they migrated to the “hole” left by missing teeth and worse the situation of poor fit between the arches.
Furthermore, malocclusion or misalignment between the arches can cause serious pathology at the temporomandibular joints, which sometimes results in pain or discomfort at the cervicofacial muscle.
Finally, tooth loss especially in the area of smile impacts very negatively in facial aesthetics. In patients who have lost many teeth, has greater significance since the teeth have the important function of holding the lips in place and if more teeth are lost a very negative effect also occurs in the facial profile producing the “facies of the edentulous “which looks much older. In cases where teeth are lost so that they no longer contact any of the below to the above, then you lose what we call “vertical dimension” (factor that is directly related to facial aesthetics, and worsen too much the look).
To prevent these problems, it is essential to full mouth rehabilitation with complete dentition. In conclusion, the teeth have many other functions other than chewing, as the protective function of the joints and other structures of the face and as the aesthetic function, which I consider as important as the other.