facial collapse Archives

Preventing Facial Collapse with Dentures

Posted on April 19, 2024 by writeradmin.

I have an impending disaster. I’ve recently been diagnosed with a severe calcium deficiency. My dentist is suggesting that I remove all of my teeth because they will just give me problems from here on out. My concern about that, aside from the whole not having teeth thing, is facial collapse. I am willing to go to the dentist every month if need be to try and save my teeth. However, if it really won’t be possible to save them, is there any way to avoid facial collapse?

Stacey

Dear Stacey,

Before you allow your dentist to remove any of your teeth, I am going to highly suggest that you get a second opinion. Dentists have different levels of desire to work to save teeth. Some dentists will do everything possible to save teeth. Others prefer to just remove and replace teeth. I feel confident that you will be able to find a dentist who is willing to help you save as many teeth as possible.

I also have some doubts about what your dentist told you. Having a calcium deficiency in adulthood should have no impact on your teeth. Your teeth are fully developed as an adult. What a calcium deficiency can do is lead to cramps, nerve pain, and osteoporosis. It will not deteriorate your teeth.

Dealing with Facial Collapse

Before and after facial collapse.

Let’s say, however, by some fluke every dentist just wants to remove all of your teeth or something else happens to destroy your oral health. Facial collapse happens when you wear completely removable dentures. Your body, sensing that you no longer have any roots of your teeth, will resorb the minerals in your body in order to use them elsewhere in your body. The reason it is called facial collapse is because that resorption shrinks the jawbone. Eventually you would not have enough of your jawbone to use in your body.

The way to prevent this is by having dental implants placed and then anchor your dentures to them. These are often called implant overdentures. The implants serve as prosthetic tooth roots, signaling to your body that you still need the minerals in your jawbone to support them.

I truly do not think you are going to need this. Get that second opinion. You’ll probably find you will be better served with a different dentist.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Is There a Way to Get Help Paying for Dental Implants?

Posted on October 26, 2023 by writeradmin.

I am only 33 years old and everything about me is healthy and attractive except for my teeth. My dentist is suggesting I just take them out and get dentures, but as I am so young, I really don’t want to do that. I’ve read the horror stories about facial collpase that come with dentures. I’d be happy to get dental implants if I could afford them, but the price is well beyond what I can do. Do you know of a way to get help paying for these. I’d be happy to do commercials or something for a dentist for free after I got the implants. Do you know of dentists who would be willing to do that? If not, is there any other way to get these for less money?

Andrea

Dear Andrea,

You are in a tough spot but I do have some suggestions for you. First, because you mentioned facial collapse, I’m going to explain it for those who may not be aware of the problem with dentures. When your teeth are removed, your body starts resorbing the minerals in your jawbone because they are no longer needed to keep your teeth roots in place. The unfortunate result of that is in about ten or so years, you will no longer have enough jawbone left to keep your denture in. Additionally, the way it shrinks the jawbone makes you look years older. Having dental implants placed prevents facial collapse because the implants signal to your body that you still have teeth that need support.

I don’t think you’ll find anyone to let you advertise for them in place of paying for the dental implants. It’s too easy for dentists to get people who pay for their treatment to agree to advertising. However, I do have a few suggestions that may help.

Getting Affordable Dental Implants

Dental Implant Students: If you are willing to have your dental implants done by a student learning how to place dental implants, you can save a substantial amount of money. They are supervised, so it is not as dangerous as it sounds, but it does take more time because they are learning.
There are a couple of affordable dental implant options that you may be able to start with. They’re not as high end as the real thing, but they will protect you from facial collapse. Talk to your dentist about those options and see if they will work in your situation.

It may be worth your time to get a second opinion. Not all dentists prefer to save teeth. Some will just extract them and save themselves the trouble of the constant battle with decay. It may be you have quite a few teeth that can be saved and you just need to go to a dentist willing to put in the work.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

I Can’t Keep My Dentures In

Posted on April 12, 2022 by writeradmin.

I am only 60 years old, but have been wearing dentures for 21 years. Lately, I cannot keep them in my mouth. Even using those gross adhesives doesn’t work anymore. Is there anything I can do about this?

Doris

Dear Doris,

The results of facial collapse

What you are dealing with is called facial collapse. I don’t know if your dentist warned you about this when you first decided on dentures. Hopefully, he or she did. When your teeth were removed, your body recognized you no longer have any teeth roots. In an effort to be as efficient as possible with your body’s resources, it begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone that were used to help hold those roots in place. This way it can use them in other places in your body that the minerals can be used. The unfortunate side-effect to this is your jawbone begins to shrink. The number of years you have been wearing dentures means you do not have enough of a jawbone left to retain your dentures.

The Solution to Facial Collapse

Implant Supported Dentures

Step one in fixing this means building back up that jawbone. You can do this with a bone grafting procedure. Once that is completed, you have two choices. First, you can get new dentures. Bear in mind, if you choose this option the whole cycle of facial collapse will begin again. A second option is to get implant supported dentures. What this does is place between four and eight dental implants in your jawbone, depending on your budget and other factors. Once the bone has had time to integrate with the implant fixtures, your denture will be anchored to them.

Because the implants serve as prosthetic tooth roots, your body interprets them as teeth. It will leave those minerals in place in order to support those root fixtures and you will not have to deal wtih facial collapse again.

This blog iis brought to you by Marietta Dentist, Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Dentist Wants Me to Pull My Teeth and Get Dentures

Posted on December 28, 2021 by writeradmin.

I have had massive trouble with my teeth since I was a child. It seems every year I max out my insurance and still spend thousands of dollars. My dentist is as frustrated as I am and recently suggested that I just have all my teeth pulled and get dentures. I’m only 38 and the idea of that absolutely makes me want to cry. Is this my only option?

Carol

Dear Carol,

Please bear in mind that I have not examined you nor have I seen any of your diagnostics. That being said, I would first get a second opinion about which teeth can be saved. Some dentists are better than others at the effort they are willing to put into saving teeth. However, natural teeth are a better option than even the best tooth replacement.

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that your teeth cannot be saved. Even if that is true, removable dentures are the worst solution for you. When your teeth are removed, your body immediately begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone in order to use them elsewhere in your body. It does this in an effort to be as efficient as possible with your body’s resources. The downside to that is in about ten or so years you will no longer have enough jawbone left to retain your dentures. In dental circles, we call this facial collapse. You are 38 at the time of writing this. So, before you even turn 50 you could be forced into a liquid diet. Not only that, you will look decades older than you really are. The good news is there is a way to prevent this.

Instead of removable dentures, you can get implant-supported dentures. This will place between four to eight dental implants in each arch, depending on your budget, and then anchor the dentures to them. Not only will this prevent facial collapse, but your quality of life will be significantly better than it would with removable dentures.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

My Mom’s Teeth Are Falling Out

Posted on August 16, 2021 by writeradmin.

My 87-year-old mother just had some fillings done last week. Today, one of her teeth just fell out. I don’t know what to do. Shouldn’t the dentist have noticed this? Are her other teeth at risk too? What would be the best solution for her if they are?

Mary Ellen

Dear Mary Ellen,

Yes, your dentist should definitely have noticed there was a problem. To get to the point where her teeth are just falling out means your mother has extensive gum disease. It sounds like your dentist has just been cleaning and repairing and not being proactive about her gum health, This tells me he’s not checking other things either, such as looking for oral cancer.

At this point, yes, you should be concerned about the remainder of your mother’s teeth. They are all going to start all falling out. For your mother, I would just treat her gum disease as best you can and have the rest of her teeth extracted, getting her full dentures. You don’t want to wait until they all come out because she will be self-conscious about her appearance. Even the elderly want to look as attractive as they can. By the way, this advice is ONLY because of your mother’s advanced age. I would not suggest just getting dentures to someone younger for reasons I will explain in a moment.

The Danger of Dentures

When your teeth are first removed, your body recognizes that you no longer have any teeth roots, so it begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body where it perceives they will be more useful. Unfortunately, after ten or so years, you will no longer have enough jawbone in your body to even retain your dentures. This is especially true with your lower dentures which just rest on the ridge of your lower jawbone. This is known as facial collapse, it can be devastating not just to a person’s appearance, but their health as well.

The only way to prevent this from happening is to have dental implants placed and anchor dentures to them. This is known as implant overdentures. It will signal to your body that you still have teeth and it will leave your jawbone intact. Because of your mother’s advanced age, I would not invest in these.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

CT Scans and Dental Implants

Posted on January 14, 2021 by writeradmin.

I had a tooth that was lost and am replacing it with a dental implant. My dentist wants to do a CT scan, but I feel like we’ve had enough x-rays at this point. Is the CT scan really necessary?

Penny

Dear Penny,

I would recommend you get the CT scan. One thing to be aware of is that a CT scan takes 3-dimensional images. This is important. Your mouth, jaw, and nasal cavity are not flat, like traditional x-rays. Think of it as the difference between a photo and a sculpture.

We get countless inquiries from other dentist’s patients who had their sinus cavity penetrated during the dental implant placement. This is a real risk which is totally preventable. Some dentists try to save money, thereby having lower prices than the next dentist, by skipping the CT-scan. These are often the dentists who end up making an error in judging the depth available to the implant. Some try to get away with this problem by using shorter implants. The problem is those rarely last as long and the patient won’t know why it failed.

If you are going to invest in the best tooth replacement, you want to make certain it has the tools to give it the greatest chance of success. Shortchanging yourself on diagnostics will sabotage those efforts.

There are quite a few causes that lead to dental implant failure. One of them is poor placement on the part of the dentist. Another is poor bone support. This is another issue that can be prevented if proper diagnostics are made.

As you can see from the image above, your dental implant is surrounded by bone. In order for the implant to stay in place, it has to integrate with that bone, which essentially grips it and holds it in place. Without adequate bone, the implant will come loose and fall out.

When you lose a tooth, your body immediately begins resorbing the minerals in the bone where the tooth was. It does this in an attempt to be as efficient as possible with your body’s resources. Depending on how long between the time you lost your tooth and the replacement, you could lose too much bone. For patients who get dentures, this ends up being devastating and ends in facial collapse.

I know it is tough when you have the option of not doing a diagnostic. However, if you were going to skip something, this would not be the test I would skip.

What if you have the CT scan and your dentist tells you that you do not have enough bone support? The good news is that doesn’t mean you cannot get dental implants, you will just need to add one quick additional procedure, bone grafting. This is an outpatient procedure that will build back up the missing bone, enabling you to get the support you need for your new tooth replacement.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Is It Too Late for Me to Get Dental Implants?

Posted on August 1, 2020 by writeradmin.

I have been trying to save up for dental implants. Unfortunately, it took me a little over ten years, so I have been in dentures that whole time. Is it too late for me to get them now?

Laurie

Dear Laurie,

No, if you are in good general health you are still a candidate for dental implants. The one thing that may be an issue is the amount of bone loss you are dealing with. If you look at the image above with a single dental implant, you can see that the implant has to be integrated with bone, just like natural teeth in order for it to have any real retention.

When your teeth were removed for your complete dentures, your body recognized you no longer had any teeth there. As a result, it begins to resorb the bone in your jaw. While it does this in an effort to be efficient with your body’s resources, it has the unfortunate effect of shrinking your jawbone. Depending on how much bone you have lost, you have one of two choices.

Build the Bone Back Up and Get Implant Overdentures

One option is to have bone grafting done. This builds up the bone in your jawbone. After a period of healing, you will be able to get your implant-supported dentures. You’ll feel a major difference in your quality of life. Your chewing capacity will skyrocket and you’ll finally be able to eat whatever you want again. You won’t have any embarrassing slips and will never have to worry about them falling out in public.

All-on-Four Dental Implants

Another option is to get all-on-four dental implants. This allows people with some bone loss to still get dental implants. Not everyone is a candidate, however. A lot depends on the type and amount of bone structure you have left in your jaw.

Either way, you want to make sure you use a dentist with post-doctoral training in dental implants, as well a success rate of about 98%. This is an advanced procedure, which requires advanced training.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Will Medical Insurance Cover My Dental Implants

Posted on June 25, 2020 by writeradmin.

I’ve lost quite a few teeth over the years, several not replaced, and have three dental bridges, all of which are over 30 years old. Because of this, I’ve had a hard time eating. I’d like to replace everything and get a dental implant denture. Will my medical insurance cover this because it is affecting my health?

Stephanie

Dear Stephanie,

Dentists get this question a lot. While it is true that not having teeth affects your overall health, medical insurance almost always has a dental exclusion in their policies. This is unfortunate because while many people have health insurance, not nearly as many have dental insurance. All that being said, you need teeth. If you’re removing or lost all of your teeth, the best replacement would be dental implants. It sounds like you already know that though. What you may not know is how important they are.

Once your teeth are gone, your body senses there are no longer there. Always striving to be efficient with its resources, it will then resorb the minerals, which your jawbone no longer needs to support your teeth, in order to use them elsewhere. Unfortunately, this begins to shrink your jawbone. In as soon as ten years, you’ll start to notice it is hard to keep your dentures in. A short time after that and it will become impossible. This is known in dentistry as facial collapse. Once this happens, you won’t even have denture teeth to eat with. Talk about impacting your health!

The solution to this is having implant-supported dentures, as you’ve expressed. The dental implants signal to your brain you still have teeth. Because of that, it leaves the minerals intact, thereby protecting your jaw.

Paying for Implant Supported Dentures

While your medical insurance won’t cover the cost. There are some ways to make this easier. First, most dentists don’t make you pay for the whole procedure upfront. Instead, you’ll cover the surgical part first. Then, when you’ve had time to heal and the bone has integrated with the implants, your dentist will then do the denture and you can pay the second part.

I realize, for many people even, that can be challenging. Some dentists let you pay it out as you go. Those who don’t almost always offer Care Credit, which is a medical credit card. They’ll pay for your procedure upfront and then you pay them out. They have low-interest payment plans and you get to choose which plan you go with.

This blog is brought to you by Marietta Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Should I Save My Last Two Front Teeth?

Posted on June 13, 2020 by writeradmin.

I have two healthy front teeth. The rest of my upper teeth are gone. I have been wearing two partial dentures but it has been suggested I would be more comfortable by extracting the last two upper teeth and replacing everything with a single complete upper denture. Though, I’m not sure if it will make a difference I will also add that I have an underbite. I can’t get a dentist to give me a real opinion. Right now, I can still eat just using those two teeth.

Brent

Dear Brent,

With everything I say here bear in mind I haven’t actually examined you so I’m going just based on principles of dentistry in generalities. In order to give a firm recommendation, I would need to examine you and do some x-rays.

In most cases, it is always better to retain natural teeth. In cases where that isn’t a good idea, dental implants are the best tooth-replacement option. I am going on the assumption that you are on a tight budget and that is why you are asking about dentures. They have quite a few problems, so if you are at all able to financially, implant-supported dentures would be a much better option for you. These place four to six dental implants then anchor your denture to them.

For the sake of sticking to your question, let’s assume you can’t get implants. Having an underbite and eating on just those two teeth is putting a ton of stress on those last two upper teeth. Even worse, it will also be adding to the stress of your lower teeth. It is extremely important to save your lower teeth for reasons we’ll go over momentarily.

In your particular case, I think extracting those last two upper teeth and getting complete upper dentures will be an acceptable option for you. You will have more security when you chew not having partials trying to work around your two front teeth. Additionally, the acrylic teeth used in dentures will be easier on those lower teeth when you eat.

The Importance of Your Lower Teeth

While your upper dentures are held in by suction, your lower dentures just sit on the ridge of your lower jawbone. Even the best fitting dentures will reduce your chewing capacity by 50%. Even worse, the moment your teeth are removed, in an effort to be efficient with your body’s resources your body immediately begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body.

After about ten or more years, you will no longer have enough jawbone left in your body to retain your dentures. This is known as facial collapse. If you can’t keep lower teeth, then dental implants can help to trick your body into thinking you still have teeth there and thereby protecting your jawbone.

This blog is brought to you by Marietta Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Implants versus Implant Dentures

Posted on May 23, 2020 by writeradmin.

I am curious. I’m losing all of my teeth and really wanted to get dental implants to replace them. When I priced how much it would cost to replace each tooth that way, it was astronomical. However, I’ve heard there is something called implant dentures. Will these do close to the same thing or is it just like regular dentures?

Rita

Dear Rita,

I hope your dentist didn’t imply that you needed a dental implant for each tooth. That would be too expensive for anyone, except for the wealthiest of individuals. It’s also totally unnecessary. When you’re talking about replacing all of your teeth, you’ll actually want implant overdentures (pictured above).

These use four to six dental implants in each arch and will completely secure your denture to your jawbone. They also give you all the protection of dental implants.

Advantages of Implant Supported Dentures

Your dentures will be completely secure
Your chewing capacity will allow you to eat whatever you want
The implants protect you from facial collapse

The Biggest Danger of Dentures

When your teeth are removed, your body will immediately begin to resorb the minerals in your jawbone. After ten or so years, you will no longer have enough jawbone left to even support dentures. This is known as facial collapse. Getting those dental implants placed signals to your brain that your body still has teeth and needs those minerals to support the roots of your teeth. This protects your jawbone and protects you from facial collapse.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.