If you’ve ever taken a physics class, you’re likely familiar with the idea of displaced pressure. When weight is focused on a small area, it absorbs more pressure. When splayed across a larger area, the pressure is diminished. For instance, standing on a frozen pond increases the risk of breakage compared with laying down on the same pond. Consider the increasing amount of pressure your teeth absorb as you experience tooth loss. A single missing tooth displaces pressure onto surrounding teeth, which can lead to changes in the way the bite fits together, excess wear on remaining teeth, or further tooth loss. Patients with numerous missing teeth are at increasingly higher risks for damage as individual teeth have to absorb more and more pressure while chewing. That’s why replacing lost teeth is so important. Dentures and partials are two of the most popular restoration options for patients with advanced tooth loss.
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