Dr. Noah's Dentistry Blog

Questions About Dentistry Answered

Will My Face Really Collapse if I Get Dentures?

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I’ve had massive problems with my teeth. So much that they’re all coming out. I’m new in my career and don’t have a lot of money. Because of that, I want to get dentures. My dentist wants me to get dental implants and said because I’m in my 30s getting dentures would cause my face to collapse. Is that true or is he trying to scare me into the more expensive procedure?

Marcus

Dear Marcus,

dentures and dental implant side by side

I don’t know how your dentist explained this to you. I’m sorry you have had so much trouble with your teeth. What your dentist is calling facial collapse, is a term used to describe the shrinking of your jawbone.

This happens after your teeth are removed. Your body recognizes there are no longer teeth roots there. As a result, in an effort to be efficient, it takes the minerals from your jawbone and redistributes them elsewhere to areas it perceives they’ll be more useful. As your dentist mentioned, this has unfortunate repercussions.

How Dental Implants Prevent Facial Collapse

As you can see from the image on the top right, dental implants place a prosthetic root in your jawbone to replace the root you lost when your tooth was extracted. This signals to your body that there are still teeth there and your jawbone remains intact.

So, here’s is what I’m going to recommend to you. First, try to save all the teeth you can. Natural teeth are always worth fighting for. You can get dental implants for the ones which can’t be saved.

If you are unable to save any teeth, it would be too much money for you to do a one-to-one ratio of teeth to implants. Instead, you’d get something called implant overdentures. This places four to six dental implants and then you can anchor a denture to them.

This gives you the protection of dental implants without needing one for each tooth.

This blog is brought to you by Glenpool Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Dental Implants or Implant Overdentures

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I’m a little confused. I can’t figure out the difference between dental implants and implant overdentures. Some people seem to use them interchangeably but I think they’re different. Can you help me? I need to replace a few teeth and don’t know which one to get.

Sandy M.

Dear Sandy,

Dental Implant Diagram

A dental implant is the fixture that is implanted into your jawbone to take the place of your tooth root. When the healing period is over, then it is topped with a porcelain crown to stand in for the visible part of your tooth.

Uses of Dental Implants

Dental implants can be used to replace a single tooth or multiple teeth. They’re also used to completely replace all your teeth. That’s where implant overdentures can come in handy.

Because these are the top of the line procedure for replacing your teeth and the procedure itself is very advanced and requires a great deal of post-doctoral training, it is the priciest of your options.

If you wanted to replace each and every tooth with a single dental implant, you’d end up costing yourself a fortune. Implant overdentures gives you the advantages of dental implants without having to place one at every tooth.

You can usually place four to six dental implants per arch and then anchor a set of dentures to them.

Advantages of Implant Overdentures

When your teeth are removed, your body begins to reabsorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body. This has the unfortunate result of causing your jawbone to shrink.

After a number of years, there isn’t enough jawbone left to retain dentures. This is known as facial collapse. The implants protect you from this because your body interprets the implants as teeth roots and leaves your jawbone intact and secure.

This blog is brought to you by Glenpool Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Why is My Face Shrinking?

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I’ve heard you can get smaller as you age, but lately, it seems like the lower half of my face is shrinking as well. I don’t know what’s going on. My dentures barely fit anymore. I’m afraid to go out in public because there’s no room for them and they slip out. Is this typical?

Avery

Dear Avery,

An illustration of the damage done by facial collapse using two pictures of a woman, one before and one after

Wearing Dentures for Too Long Causes Facial Collapse

What you’re suffering from is known as facial collapse. This occurs when you’ve been wearing dentures for a number of years. When you remove your teeth, your body realizes that you no longer have teeth roots in your jaw. Because our bodies are incredibly efficient (I mean what other pieces of equipment holds up for 80 years living mostly off burgers and fries?), it resorbs the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere, perceiving they’re no longer needed.

This is why your jaw is slowly shrinking. It’s also why your dentures no longer fit properly. Eventually, you will be unable to keep them in your mouth at all, leaving you a dental cripple stuck on a liquid diet. I’m concerned your dentist neither warned you about this nor recognized what was happening to you.

A Solution for Facial Collapse

There are two solutions for you. Both will include getting bone grafting done. This is where a surgeon builds back up the bone you’ve lost. After that, you can choose to have your dentures remade to fit the new structure. Just bear in mind, you’ll face the same issue of disintegration that your original dentures caused.

Another option is for you to replace your teeth with dental implants. This uses prosthetic tooth roots, usually made out of titanium, to help your body to know the bone is still necessary to hold in the new roots of your teeth. They have other benefits as well.

Advantages of Dental Implants

  • They are permanently secure. Once they’re placed, it’s like having healthy, natural teeth back. There’s no slipping. No sliding.
  • Your chewing capacity will increase dramatically.
  • They protect you from developing facial collapse.

The key is to communicate with your dentist and let him look and advise.

This blog is brought to you by Glenpool Dentist Dr. Noah Ryan.

Gums Over Crowns Turning Gray

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I have two crowns on my front teeth. They’ve never looked quite natural, but now I’m worried there’s something seriously wrong. The gums above the crowns have developed a dark gray line. Is there something dangerous going on?

Gina

Dear Gina,

all porcelain crowns versus metal based crowns

First, let me reassure you. There is nothing dangerous going on. What you’re dealing with is a cosmetic issue as a result of the type of crown you received. It sounds to me like you were given a porcelain-fused-to-metal crown. These metal-based crowns are more opaque than the all-porcelain crowns because they need the added opaqueness to cover the metal base. The gray line your seeing is also a result of that type of crown. It happens to all metal-based crowns.

The only solution is to replace them. I wouldn’t go to the same dentist. Truthfully, I’m surprised your dentist placed those on your front teeth. For aesthetic reasons, a responsible dentist would only place all-porcelain crowns on your front teeth. These are much more natural looking as you can see from the comparison images above.

Considerations with Your Dental Crown

Check the work of the dentist you’re considering before going through with the procedure. You want your crowns to look natural and seeing examples of work the dentist has done in the past will let you know if he or she is capable of providing that.

Once the crowns are made, the color is permanent. If you are interested in having your teeth whitened, you’ll want to do it before you replace your dental crowns. That way, when the crowns are made they will match the color you’d want them to be permanently.

This blog is brought to you by Glenpool Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Can I Use Antibiotics for a Tooth Infection?

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I have a pimple on my gums and my tooth hurts. I looked it up online and it sounds like I have a tooth infection. I don’t have dental insurance and don’t make much money. I do have some antibiotics I’d never taken for a sinus infection that went away on its own. Can I just take those for the tooth infection?

Carl

Dear Carl,

A man holding the side of his jaw like he needs an emergency dentist

Antibiotics won’t solve a tooth infection

There is a common misunderstanding about antibiotics and dentistry, which is probably why we still have people dying from tooth infections. I’m glad you wrote so you won’t risk the same fate. Think of antibiotics as an aide to instead of a cure for tooth infections.

The reason they can’t knock it out on their own is due to the structure of the tooth. Once the infection gets to the pulp of your tooth, it dies. That means no more blood flow. Without blood flow, there’s no way for the antibiotic to have any effect on the infected pulp. While antibiotics will slow down the infection on the areas it can reach, the infection will return and spread.

The only way to truly take care of it is for a dentist to get in there and physically dig out the infection. This is called a root canal treatment.

Finding an Affordable Dentist

You’re in a bit of a pickle and I understand that. Fortunately, most dentists are compassionate and got into this field with the idea of helping people. There are affordable dentists. Be careful though. There is a difference between affordable dentistry and cheap dentistry.

Cheap dentistry is when a dentist has significantly lower prices than almost all the other dentists around him or her. They are doing that to draw people in. You need to ask yourself why they are so much cheaper than everyone else. Is it because they have trouble retaining patients because of poor dental or people skills? Bear in mind, there’s also a real possibility they’re making up their profits by purchasing cheap materials which will fail on you.

Instead of a cheap dentist, you want one who works to keep their prices reasonable without cutting corners. They can be affordable in other ways, such as making low or no-interest payment plans available so you can get the treatment you need and then pay it out. They can also phase your treatment in some cases.

Do an online search for an affordable dentist, but be certain to check out their reviews to make sure you’re not getting into a disastrous dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Glenpool dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Are Dental Implants Really Superior?

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I’ve got three teeth that need replacing thanks to a baseball bat that hit me instead of a pinata. The neighbor kid has a swing like you would not believe. Seriously, the Yankees should already be on the phone with his parents. I wanted to get a removable partial denture because it seemed the most in line with our budget. But, my dentist keeps pushing me toward dental implants. He says it’s because the teeth are at the front of my bottom jaw. I looked into it and, yeah, they’re stronger, but I get the feeling he’s saying to get them because he’ll make LOADS more money.

LeeAnne

Dear LeeAnne,

Dental Implant Diagram

If you call the Yankees and it pans out, maybe you’ll get a recruiter fee. Before we get into your treatment options, I wanted to ask whether your dentist had given you a reason in the past to doubt his integrity and think he’s just trying to get you to do the most expensive treatment? It’s important you’re able to trust your dentist. If you have a reason not to feel he can be trusted, you’d be better served to find a different dentist. You want a dentist you can trust.

Now, onto your question. I think your dentist is concerned about the effects of facial collapse on your lower jaw. If you’re missing three teeth in that same area, your jaw will begin to shrink. Dental implants protect you from that. The implanted prosthetic root tells your body teeth are still there and your jawbone is still needed. So, yes, they’re stronger. But, they also protect your jawbone from slowly disappearing.

What Your Dentist Should Provide

Ethically, your dentist should tell you all of your options whether he thinks they’re good options or not. However, he should also recommend which options he thinks are better, along with why. He’ll know the pros and cons of each option and should take the time to share them with you.

The second thing he should provide is answers. You should be able to ask as many questions as you need and he patiently provides answers. It sounds like you were totally unsure about his recommendation. I don’t know if you asked questions and he refused to answer or if you weren’t comfortable asking.

Know when you’re talking about your health and finances, you have every right to ask questions. I know some dentists tend to get offended when you ask questions as if because they’re the dentist they should not be questioned. But that is unfair to patients.

Options for Missing Teeth

  • Removable Partial Denture

These have the obvious downside of not being permanent. Plus, we already discussed facial collapse. As far as quality of life goes, some patients complain of food getting under their denture. Their big benefit is their price.

  • Dental Bridge

These are permanent, but you still have to deal with the facial collapse. Additionally, the more teeth you need to replace on the same bridge unit, the less stable. If one part of the bridge breaks, the whole unit has to be replaced. Where your bridge would have to be placed is especially tricky.

  • Dental Implants

These are permanent, strong, and will protect you from facial collapse. Their biggest drawback is their cost and the fact it requires surgery.

Those options are up to you, though. A dentist can strongly recommend one solution over another, but it is up to you which one you pick.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Noah.

Dentist Said My Face Will Collapse with Dentures

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I don’t know if my dentist is saying this just to scare me into dental implants, but thought I’d check just in case. I’m losing my teeth due to a lifetime of both problems that could and couldn’t be controlled. My dentist wanted me to get dental implants, but they cost a fortune. I was considering dentures, but he says they make your face collapse. Is he just trying to scare me into the more important procedure?

Troy M.

Dear Troy,

A dentist and patient

Has your dentist given you a reason to think he’s manipulated you in the past? If so, that would be an egregious breach of trust between a patient and caregiver. Whatever his character, in this case, he’s right. Though, when he talks about your face collapsing he doesn’t mean your whole face. He’s referring to your jawbone shrinking.

Once you remove all your teeth, your body reabsorbs the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere throughout your body. This causes your jawbone to shrink little by little. As that progresses, you’ll no longer be able to wear your dentures because they won’t fit.

Why Your Dentist Suggested Dental Implants

Implants, as their name implies, places a titanium implant into your jawbone. Then after your bone has reabsorbed around the implant and is stable, your dentist can place a porcelain crown on top. Now you’re talking about all your teeth, so you don’t want to pay for a one-to-one ratio dental implants to teeth, unless of course you are independently wealthy.

Generally, you would get implant supported dentures, which is a mixture of the two treatments. It anchors your dentures to your jaw. This prevents you from losing mass in your jawbone and keeps your dentures from slipping and sliding around. Obviously, the more dental implants the better.

Talk to your dentist about what would work best in your particular situation. However, if you don’t trust your dentist, you’d be better served looking for another dentist which you can. Be sure to check their reviews so you get some idea what you’re getting into.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Noah.

Dentist Refusing to Give Me Dentures

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I’m very worried. I’ve been in an accident that is causing me to lose most of my teeth. In preparation for that, I went to my dentist to make plans for dentures. He told me it’s imperative I get dental implants. It’s not that I don’t want them, it’s just I can’t afford them. He is absolutely refusing the give me dentures saying that at my age (I’m 23) it would be irresponsible. What should I do? It’s not like it’s any more responsible for me to be without teeth. Can you advise?

Daniel M.

Dear Daniel,

Cu-Sil denture Affordable dental treatment

First, let me express sorrow that your accident has caused you such devastating trouble. I’m sure this has been an extremely distressing situation for you. I also understand that it would be extraordinarily difficult for a 23-year-old just starting out in life to afford a procedure like dental implants. I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think you’re going to get anywhere with him, so you’ll be better served going to a different dentist. However, I am going to explain his concerns and what your options are.

While he’s handled the situation poorly, his concern is valid. At your age, if you were to get dentures and stick with that procedure, you’ll be afflicted with facial collapse before you even hit 40 years of age. While I know you can’t afford full dental implants there are ways to get as much protection for your jawbone as possible.

Affording Care You Can’t Afford

The first thing I’d do is see if there are ANY teeth which can be saved. Even one or two is better than nothing and will preserve some bone. There are dentures which can be made to have holes in them where you still have natural teeth to fit through.

Next, if there are even just a couple of implants you can afford that will help. Your dentist can strategically place them to give you maximum protection. Ask about implant overdentures.

Then, as finances allow, you can add implants your treatment plan.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Noah.

Implant Dentist or General Dentist

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I need to replace two teeth and want to get dental implants. Can I go to a general dentist or do I need an implant dentist?

Rex B. – Fayetteville, AR

Rex,

There isn’t really such a thing as an implant dentist, because there is not a dental specialty in implants. Therefore, any dentist who does implants is, though they may call themselves an implant dentist, is really just a general dentist.

The reason they call themselves that is so that patients know it is a procedure they do. However, you need to be careful. Not every dentist who does the procedure actually has the training necessary to do a good job.

Take a peek at Dr. Noah’s implant page to get an idea of what kind of training you want the dentist to have. It’s an advanced procedure, with a chance of failure, so you want to give yourself the best chance possible.

This blog is brought to you by Glenpool Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

All-in-one Glenpool Dentist

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Many families find it convenient to go to the same dentist instead of having one dentist for the adults and another for the children. Our Glenpool dental office takes it a step further. You can even have your teen orthodontic needs met at our office.

We can handle everything from traditional braces, with multicolored bands or teens, to Invislalign, for those who are looking for a more discreet way of straightening their smile.

It’s a joy to us to get to knwo entire families and be able to serve them from infancy throughout their life to adulthood. Getting to know our patients–really know them– is one of our favorite things about our office.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.