In my everyday practice, I have become aware of the fact that patients are more concerned about the aspect of their frontal teeth than they are about their molars.

However, when I am examining their mouths, I see in some cases that there is a loss of teeth. What surprises me more is their reaction, as if they don’t even care about them because molars cannot be seen.

Although it is true that our molars are at the end of our mouth and lack the aesthetic factor, its loss leads to changes in the morphology of the mouth and its functions, affecting our health.

Molars: if I can’t see them, shall I care?

Before answering me, let me introduce you to three possible future situations if in case you have no molars:

1. The ability to chew will be reduced to the point that you won’t be able to crush the food properly in order to be digested. This is a very important stage in the digestive process: when crushing the food, you are creating the alimentary bolus, which is the product of mixing the food with saliva; enzymes from the saliva extract the nutrients and aid our stomach and intestines during the digestive process.
2. Additionally, you would only be able to chew using your front teeth – they are not designed for this purpose. Over the years, there will appear premature deterioration and fractures, including dental migration, which can create spaces between teeth and deteriorate our smile.
3. On the other hand, changes in the morphology of the mouth go hand in hand with an acute bone loss and a regrowth of the tongue. Apart from that, there will also be painful muscular and joint changes, affecting your complexion and its aspect.

All these changes occur sooner or later and all are easily avoidable by restoring or replacing a tooth when necessary.