Missing teeth can make it difficult to complete various tasks that you once found easy. Things as simple as chewing your food, speaking clearly, and smiling without feeling self-conscious become a challenge. Something that many people don’t think about is the way that missing teeth affect the structure of the face. If fact, the face shape can completely transform. Read on to learn more about how this happens and what you can do about it.
How Does Tooth Loss Change Your Face Shape?
If you have a missing tooth or two in your mouth, you might not give it that much thought – especially if you are only missing teeth in the back of the mouth where the gaps aren’t visible. However, all of your teeth are important when it comes to the shape of your face. If you are missing a tooth in the back of your mouth, it may not affect your ability to chew or speak very much, but your jawbone will feel the effects.
When there are no longer tooth rots stimulating the jawbone in an area, it starts to be reabsorbed by the body. Missing any number of teeth will result in atrophy in the jawbone. When the jawbone becomes too weak and fragile, it won’t even be able to support dental implants. The only options at this point are traditional dentures or bone grafting.
How Does Facial Collapse Occur?
When your jawbone atrophies over the years due to missing teeth, it will eventually no long be able to support the structure of the face, resulting in collapse. This means that you will notice a sunken or shorter appearance to your face. This also affects the muscles around your lips, causing them to weaken and become wrinkled. This can add decades to one’s appearance. Over time, the amount of space between the nose and chip may decrease, changing the appearance of your face.
How Can You Prevent Jawbone Loss?
To prevent the jaw from atrophying, the roots of the missing teeth must be replaced. Currently, the only tooth replacement option available that replaces the roots of the missing teeth is dental implants. They stimulate bone growth and precent additional jawbone loss. This helps to prevent facial collapse due to bone loss.
If you are missing teeth, don’t wait for bone loss to profess before you replace them. Instead, consider asking your dentist about replacing your missing teeth with dental implants. This way, you can preserve the health of your smile and integrity of your face.
About the Author
After graduating from the Government Dental College and Hospital in Ahmedabad, India, and completing a three-year residency, Dr. Dhiren Ahir moved to the United States and earned his dental doctorate from the renowned New York University College of Dentistry. Currently, he is a proud member of the Academy of General Dentistry, American Dental Association, Texas Dental Association, and the Dallas County Dental Society. To learn more about dental implants or to schedule an appointment at his office in Denton, visit his website or call (940) 514-0333.