When you lose a tooth, it can affect your appearance in more ways than you realize. In addition to leaving a gap in your smile, a missing tooth can also affect the shape of your face, ultimately leading to facial collapse that causes you to appear significantly older. If you want to maintain a youthful look, then it’s worth learning about the link between missing teeth and facial shape – as well as what solutions your dentist has to offer.
The Link Between Missing Teeth and Facial Shape
You may not realize it, but your natural teeth provide stimulation for your jaw every time you bite or chew something. If any number of teeth are missing, the lack of stimulation will result in bone loss, causing the jaw to shrink over time.
As your jawbone deteriorates, it will become less capable of providing support for your facial features. The result is facial collapse, which is characterized by sunken cheeks and an increased amount of wrinkles around the mouth, thus making you look older than you actually are.
How Can You Prevent Facial Collapse?
If missing teeth can cause the shape of your face to change, then the obvious solution is to have the teeth in question replaced. However, simply filling in the gaps in your grin with a traditional dental bridge or partial denture won’t be enough. These tooth replacement options have their benefits, but they lack the means to prevent bone loss.
Fortunately, there is a way to re-complete your smile while ensuring that your jawbone gets the stimulation it needs: dental implants. Unlike traditional bridges and dentures, dental implants are surgically inserted into the jaw, allowing them to act like artificial tooth roots. This means dental implants are the only form of tooth replacement capable of stopping the jaw from deteriorating and helping you avoid facial collapse in the long term.
Note that some patients are better candidates for dental implants than others. Your mouth needs to be in good health, and your jaw must still have enough bone density to support the implant posts. If you schedule a consultation with your dentist, they can help you figure out whether dental implants are truly the best choice in your situation.
If you are able to get dental implants, then having them placed as soon as possible could go a long way toward keeping facial collapse at bay. Reach out to your dentist today if you’re interested in re-completing your smile with sturdy dental implant posts.
About the Author
Dr. Yanling Yue, also known as Dr. Lina, earned her dental degree with Magna Cum Laude honors from Temple University Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry. She makes a point of fully understanding her patients’ needs so that she can provide the best possible treatments for them. If you are missing any number of teeth, she can determine your candidacy for dental implants. To schedule a consultation with Dr. Lina at Androscoggin Dental Care in Topsham, visit her website or call (207) 729-3911.