Missing teeth can make it challenging to complete a variety of daily tasks that you once thought of as easy, like chewing your food, speaking clearly, and smiling without feeling self-conscious. Something that many people don’t think about is the way that missing teeth affect the structure of the face. The shape of the face can completely transform. Continue reading to learn more about how this happens and what you can do about it.
How Does Tooth Loss Affect Face Shape?
If you have a missing tooth or two in your mouth, you might not give it that much thought. This is especially the case 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 molar, it might not affect your ability to chew or speak much, but your jawbone will notice the effects.
When there are no longer tooth roots to stimulate 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 option at this point is 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 longer 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 chin might 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 need to 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 prevent additional jawbone deterioration. This also helps to prevent facial collapse due to bone loss. If you have experienced bone loss, bone grafting can be performed to provide you with the strong foundation needed to support your new smile.
If you are missing teeth, don’t wait for bone loss to progress 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 the integrity of your face.
About the Practice
At Alpharetta Modern Dentistry, Dr. Valeria Labastida and Dr. Ashish Kakadia work together to treat patients in the Alpharetta community. With their combined experience and expertise, patients can get pretty much anything they need under one roof, including accurate guided dental implant surgery. If you are missing teeth, they would be happy to help complete your smile. For more information or to schedule a consultation, visit their website or call (470) 683-6271.