Missing Back Teeth Problems

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Dr Muzzafar Zaman Dental Advice

3 min readJun 5, 2020

Missing back teeth can cause several problems which are highlighted as follows. In addition, problems can be short-term or long-term.

Although one missing back tooth will not cause problems in chewing if you have several missing, then that can cause problems in chewing. Chewing food on that side may take longer or may not be possible at all.
Missing back teeth may force a patient to eat more on their front teeth which can result in excessive wear of the remaining teeth. Excessive wear can cause aesthetic problems but also functional problems.
Missing back teeth may also cause a patient to become conscious that they have teeth which are missing. Often, even the patient’s close family or friends do not even know that there is a problem but that the patient is just self-conscious. There have been cases where a patient even becomes depressed and they feel they are getting cold due to missing back teeth.
Missing teeth at the back is also known to cause aesthetic problems if especially the patient has a wide smile. Essentially problems can also arise from the effects of losing teeth such as excessive wear on the front ones and a change in the jaw position causing facial changes.
Missing back teeth can result in movement of adjacent and opposing teeth. Movement of adjacent teeth is called a mesial drift and with the opposing teeth, it is called ‘over eruption’. This, in turn, can cause loss of further teeth by the development of dental caries, periodontal disease and jaw problems.

Many patients do have at least one missing back tooth and often several but in many cases, it is not a cause for concern and no lasting damage is caused. However, when problems do arise, it is a good idea to seek the advice of a dentist and review all your options. Even after reviewing all your options, it may be that it is better to leave things as they are.