Teeth stimulate the jaw bone to maintain good health. Keeping your jaw bones healthy is probably more important than keeping your teeth clean.

When a tooth is lost, the lack of stimulation causes loss of the jaw bone. Whenever a tooth is extracted, nature will remove the bone that used to surround it. Teeth on either side will shift or tip into the empty space. If there is a tooth directly above or below the space it will over erupt, as there will not be anything to prevent it from coming out of the gum tissue. The majority of bone degeneration will occur within the first six months but will slowly continue for years. The movement of the adjacent teeth will not occur immediately; rather it will become noticeable after three to five years. How fast it occurs will depend on the density of bone in the area, your bite and how well your teeth close or interlock with each other. If you have missing teeth and you do not replace them, these movements will occur.

These movements may create gum problems and /or decay and could lead to the loss of other teeth. As you lose more teeth, you will be forced to chew in other areas, and this often leads to tooth fracture from overloading, excessive wear and/or TMJ (jaw joint) problems. Eventually more extensive and expensive dentistry may be required in the future.

Consequences of lost teeth:

Facial changes naturally occur in relation to the ageing process. When the teeth are lost, this process is grossly accelerated with more rapid facial ageing. The loss of teeth can add 10 or more years to a person's face. A decrease in face height occurs as a result of the collapse of bone height when teeth are lost

• jaw bone shrinks in height and width
• nearby teeth shift, move to fill missing tooth space
• sinus above upper jaw bone changes size --- may get thinner
• change in facial features
• possible headaches and neck muscle tension
• May cause infection of other teeth
• possible link to sinus problems like nasal drip
• Ways to deal with missing teeth:
• Dental implants
• Fixed bridge, also called fixed partial denture [FPD]
• Removable partial denture
• Other dental bridge types
• Stem cells in the future