by U Shine Dental � Maple-Vaughan | Oct 2, 2018
Many people don’t give much thought to the importance of their back teeth. Your back teeth, also called posterior teeth are vital for chewing supporting the rest of your bite. Your back teeth provide vertical support to your bite much like the foundation of a house provides support and keeps the house level. This is called posterior support.
Your front teeth rely on the back teeth to keep them in position. Without posterior support the front teeth will begin to “crash” into each other.
Modern dentistry offers many options to restore broken or worn back teeth. Missing teeth can be replaced with implants or fixed bridges. Heavily worn and broken teeth can be restored with crowns.
The restoration of a collapsed bite can be time intensive and quite expensive. Many teeth need to be addressed simultaneously and it’s not possible to treat just one tooth at a time.
Keep your back teeth strong and healthy. Restore weakened teeth early with crowns where necessary, replace missing back teeth, wear a grinding appliance if it’s been recommended, and keep your gums healthy with great home care and regular checkups with your dental hygienist.
By maintaining your posterior support you will help keep all of your teeth healthy and maintain your great smile and youthful appearance!
