Hi @avemysterious ,
If you’re not prepared to spend some money on it getting the touchscreen repaired, (this requires replacement of the LCD panel as well, as it is a complete assembly) I suggest that you leave it as it is, as the bezel and digitizer are providing extra protection for the LCD screen by preventing direct contact with the screen.
At least the LCD screen will remain clean and you only have to carefully clean the glass, which is a lot safer than having to clean a LCD screen directly
You can always go into Device Manager and disable the touchscreen so that it doesn’t interfere with the operation of the laptop if you accidentally touch a working part of the digitizer.