Oklahoma City Facial Collapse

Patients needing dentures must be aware of a common complication of long-term denture use. Known as facial collapse, this condition can have serious consequences, not only for the patient's appearance, but also for their overall health.

An example of patients suffering from facial collapse.When a tooth is extracted, there is no longer a tooth anchored in the jawbone. Over time, the body detects that the bone is not needed to support a tooth in this location and begins to resorb the bony tissue for use elsewhere in the body. When a significant number of teeth are lost, this eventually leads to a large area of bone loss in the jaw. Over time, this bone loss will cause dentures to no longer fit well. Eventually, so much of the bony ridge that supports the denture will be lost that no dentures will fit. This can severely affect the patient's quality of life as they can no longer bite or chew food.

There are two key ways to prevent facial collapse. One is to do everything possible to preserve your existing teeth, even if they are damaged and have significant decay. If the root is healthy and the tooth can be repaired, a good dentist will try to salvage the teeth that can be saved.

Two, dental implants will provide an artificial root that actually bonds with the patient's natural bone tissue, preserving the jawbone and preventing facial collapse from occurring. That is why, in the absence of saving a patient's natural teeth, Dr. Forth prefers dental implants as the method for replacing a patient's missing teeth.

Learn more about the use of dental implants for replacing missing teeth.

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