Edmond, OK Facial Collapse

When you lose a tooth, your body begins to resorb the bone that supported that tooth to use those minerals elsewhere in the body. When you lose all your teeth, it has profound effects. Your lower face shrinks and begins to adopt the shriveled, caved-in appearance we associate with advanced age. The absence of teeth in the jawbone signals to the body that you don’t need that bone anymore, and the jawbone shrinks. In time, this process of bone resorption leads to facial collapse.

But even in patients who have all of their teeth, sometimes the teeth wear down to such an extent that there is a loss of vertical dimension, and they can suffer a milder case of facial collapse.

Fortunately, for those suffering from facial collapse from either the loss of teeth or excessive wear, dentistry can restore your normal facial height and give you the more youthful appearance you want.

The Impact of Facial Collapse

On the left is a series of models of a jawbone in various stages of facial collapse. In the top model, all teeth are present. In the model just below, the teeth have been removed, which causes a rapid loss of bone over a period of just a few weeks. After that period, bone loss continues at a slower rate, culminating in complete atrophy — as pictured at the bottom — if allowed to continue for the next ten or twenty years. When complete facial collapse occurs, the jawbone is so deteriorated that it is no longer able to comfortably support a removable denture, as none fit properly nor can be made to do so. For a person at this stage, even eating normally is no longer possible. But the good news is that facial collapse can be prevented before it starts and treated even after it has reached an advanced stage.

How to Prevent Facial Collapse

If you lose all of your teeth, you can prevent facial collapse by replacing them with dental implants. The presence of dental implants prevents bone resorption in the vicinity of the implants. This is because the body interprets each implant as a viable tooth root and will not initiate resorption of the bone surrounding the implant. With enough dental implants, the entire process of bone resorption and atrophy will be prevented.

Treatment is Here

Even if you are already experiencing advanced jawbone atrophy, your facial structure can be restored. In these cases, bone grafting can rebuild your jawbone, and a set of implant-supported dentures will secure your smile and prevent future bone resorption. Where bone loss is less severe, bone grafting won’t be necessary. Using the All-on-4 method, Dr. Jerome Cha will place your implants at an angle to make the best use of the bone quantity available. Then he’ll attach a fixed implant denture, which will provide needed support for your face through the use of artificial gum and bone tissue made of acrylic. To learn more, visit our Implant-Supported Dentures page.

If you still have your teeth and the problem is excessive wear, a full-mouth reconstruction will restore your normal facial height.

When you’re ready to reverse facial aging through proper structural support, give us a call at (405) 906-3366 to schedule your initial exam. Or you can request an appointment online, and we’ll reach out to you for scheduling.