How critical are dust shields?

[Uncle Buck]

Had the dust shields fall apart when doing the rear brakes on my daughters Mazda 3.

Is replacing them a priority or can I wait for Spring when I switch back to summer tires?

[redo75]

I was told rear disc brakes take a beating in winter from salt and snow even with the shields.
Reasoning behind so many car companies continuing to use the old style drums for so long in the rears.
Some may dispute it as a cost saving, but some companies may do the right thing sometimes.

[LX89]

The front dust shields on my 89 foxbody are long gone.
Rusted away and fell apart.
Looked to see years ago if new were available but nothing was.

For me I'm not worried about it.
The bolts holding them on the spindle are probably so rusted they might snap off when trying to loosen them.

[ZR]

Not a concern in the world.

[Uncle Buck]

Awesome

[Mustang4]

None on my Fox and no issues.

[Zippy]

Dech doesn't have them, you know, weight savings.