What happens when you don't replace a missing tooth.

The gap left by a missing tooth feels like an absence. What most patients do not realize is that it is also an active process. The bone that used to support that tooth begins to resorb. Without the mechanical stimulation of a root, the body stops maintaining the bone volume there. Within the first year, noticeable loss begins.

That bone loss has a visible consequence. The skin around the mouth is supported by the structure underneath it. When enough bone is gone, the support is reduced and the face can look older than it is. Not a subtle change over decades — a real one, and faster than most people expect.

The neighboring teeth shift. When a tooth is missing, the teeth on either side gradually drift toward the gap. The tooth above or below it, now with nothing to bite against, can over-erupt. The bite changes. Chewing becomes less efficient. In some cases speech is affected as well.

The American Academy of Periodontology describes missing teeth as having consequences that are esthetic, functional, and emotional. The confidence piece is real. A gap in a visible part of the mouth affects how people smile and how they feel in conversation.

A dental implant addresses all of it. The titanium post replaces the root, which preserves bone volume by restoring the stimulation that keeps the body maintaining it. The crown that sits on top restores bite function and closes the gap. It looks and functions like a natural tooth because, structurally, it is doing the same job.

The timing matters. The longer a tooth goes unreplaced, the more bone is lost, and bone volume is what makes implant placement possible and straightforward. An implant placed soon after extraction often requires no additional grafting. An implant placed years later may require bone grafting first to restore what was lost.

If you are weighing the decision, the right conversation is with a periodontist who places implants and can evaluate what the bone looks like now. New patients are welcome. (310) 903-7674.

Dr. Sharyar Baradaran, DDS, MS is a periodontist in Beverly Hills and a member of the American Academy of Periodontology. He has placed thousands of dental implants over more than 32 years of practice.