Hey Joahanna, that is a great question that many patients ask on a weekly basis! First reason is because your teeth will most likely shift. Our teeth are designed to erupt through our gums until they contact a tooth next to it and above or below it (depending on if it is a bottom or top tooth). Thus if you take it’s neighbor away, the adjacent teeth tend to drift to that open space searching for a tooth touch. This can cause teeth to tilt which can make that tooth hard to clean and also alter your bite, possibly leading to pain in your jaw joints or accelerates tooth wear. You can also think of your mouth like an 18 wheel truck. If you lose one wheel, the truck will still make it cross country. However, due to the inbalance, the other wheels will wear quicker because they have to endure more stress to make up for the missing wheel. Finally, you will lose bone in the area where the tooth is missing. In the same way that your arm looks smaller after being in a cast for several months without exercising; your bone will resorb since it is no longer being stimulated from chewing. The only way to prevent bone resorption (or at least drastically slow down the process) is via a dental implant. Hope this helps!
