How Can I Avoid Facial Collapse with Dentures?

I’ve been told I have a calcium deficiency recently. I asked my dentist if I need to adjust how I am caring for my teeth because of it and she suggested that I have all of my teeth pulled and to get dentures. She said it would save me money in the long run instead of having to come in and have a tooth removed every time it is unsaveable. I’ve pretty much been in tears ever since. I’m only 37 and the idea of facial collapse at my age is devastating. Is there any medication I can take that will prevent this?

Katie

Dear Katie,

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

Wearing Removable Dentures Leads to Facial Collapse

I don’t know who this dentist is that you have, but you need to switch dentists. A calcium deficiency that started as an adult will NOT mean your teeth are going to start crumbling. The only way a calcium deficiency will matter is if it happens while your teeth are developing. Yours are already fully developed, so I have no idea why your dentist is panicking you like this.

Just keep up with your oral healthcare and you should be fine as far as your teeth go. What you do have to look out for is the risk of nerve damage or osteoporosis, but your doctor should be giving you instructions to help you prevent that.

Preventing Facial Collapse

For the benefit of others who may be facing dentures or wondering what facial collapse is, I’ll answer your other question here. When your teeth are removed, your body recognizes that it no longer has to support those teeth. Because of that it begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone in order to use them elsewhere in your body where it feels they are more needed. The result of this is your jawbone shrinking more each year. Eventually, you will not have enough jawbone left to even support your dentures. This is known as facial collapse. See the picture above to get a visual on the results of this.

The good news is that there is a way to prevent this. The key is to make sure your body knows that you need your jawbone to support teeth roots. You do that by having dental implants placed. It will interpret those prosthetics as tooth roots and leave your jawbone intact.

There is are other benefits, too. Because they are anchored to your jaw, there will be no slipping, sliding, or falling out. Plus, you’ll be able to eat anything you want, which will not be possible with removable dentures.

This blog is brought to you by a friendly dentist in Tulsa, Dr. Ryan Noah.