Rear Teeth – Looking After Our ‘Molars’

Our molar teeth do a lot of work – how do we best look after them and repair them when damaged?

Each and every one of our teeth has an important role to play. It is fair to say though that when it comes to the ‘workhorse’ of our teeth, this role probably falls largely on the molars, those teeth at the rear of our mouth. It is these teeth that do the heavy lifting of grinding and chewing our food so that it can be digested more easily.

This workload in itself could create problems with our molars, but the fact that they are located in an area that makes them more difficult to clean, further increases the risk. In today’s blog, we are going to take a look at what you, the patient, can do to keep these teeth healthy for as long as possible and also how they can be restored if any damage is done.

Brushing and flossing

We always tell you to brush and floss your teeth well and this applies to the rear teeth too, yet they sometimes get neglected as they can be tricky to reach with a toothbrush. Food can easily become trapped here and may not be removed with brushing unless special care is taken.

There are a number of things that you can do to help keep your rear teeth clean. Swill water around your mouth to help dislodge food and bacteria that has become trapped there and also brush carefully, paying particular attention to the very back of the tooth where it can be hard to reach. You can even buy a special angled brush which will help you reach the back of your rear teeth. Finally, even if it is a little difficult at first, clean the area at the back of the tooth using dental floss as you do the rest of your teeth, even if it is a little trickier.

Restoring damaged or decayed rear teeth

As we have already said, while it can happen to any of your teeth, decay and damage to the rear ones are some of the most common that we see at Clocktower Dental, Implant & Facial Centre. Where this does happen, there are a number of options available to restore them which we have available at our Epsom dental clinic.

Fillings

Understandably, more patients than ever are switching to tooth coloured fillings to keep them discreet and almost invisible. These are excellent for the majority of the teeth and many people choose this type of filling for aesthetic reasons. While this type of filling is strong, it might not always be the right choice, especially for a larger rear tooth filling. Our dentists will advise on a case-by-case basis.

Crowns

Where decay has really taken hold and a large cavity has formed, it may prove to be a better option to fit a crown instead of trying to fill the tooth. Crowns do provide an excellent way of providing strength to any damaged tooth and, given the work the rear teeth have to do, may be ideal for this situation. In order to do this, we will need to prepare the tooth and take impressions of it. These are then used to produce the dental crown which is done at a special laboratory to ensure the high quality that our patients deserve. Once the crown has been produced, it will be attached by the dentist using a special and strong dental adhesive.

Unsaveable rear teeth

What happens when a rear tooth has become so badly decayed or damaged that it can’t be repaired, or where the prognosis is so poor that any restoration is likely to be fairly short lived? As the rear teeth are less visible it might be tempting to not replace any that have to be extracted. This would be a mistake though as we use these teeth a lot and transferring the role they play to adjacent teeth may well cause breakages or erosion as they are not made for this purpose.

With the very rear teeth, a bridge is not an ideal option as there are no teeth available on both sides of the gap to attach it to. This leaves dentures or a tooth implant. For the same reason as a bridge, a denture placed at the very rear may not provide the required stability needed for chewing. For a really effective tooth replacement method, and especially for these teeth, a dental implant offers a good solution. By placing an artificial tooth root into the jaw and allowing them to fuse together, a very firm foundation is created onto which a crown can be attached. This is about as close to a real tooth, both in look and feel, as it is currently possible to achieve.

If you have problem with your teeth and would like to book an appointment with us, please call the Clocktower Dental, Implant & Facial Centre on 01372 720136 and speak to one of our friendly receptionists.