Dentures and Facial Collapse

Posted by writeradmin

I have been crying for three days and decided it was time to put on my big girl panties and see if I had options. Some background. I’m 34 years old and had been having some pretty bad nerve pain. After a bunch of tests, it has been determined that I have a severe calcium deficiency. My dentist said this would explain why I’ve had so much trouble with my teeth. He feels I am fighting a losing battle and should just extract my teeth. I am devastated with this news on top of everything else. I looked up what happens with dentures and all the articles say that my face is going to collapse, making me look ancient. Is there any procedures that can help to prevent this?

Amanda

Dear Amanda,

An image of a woman's face both before and after facial collapse. — A woman’s jawline before and after facial collapse.

Before you do anything drastic, such as extract all of your teeth, I want you to be seen by another dentist in order to get a second opinion. I do not believe this is going to be the best dentist for you. If you developed this calcium deficiency in adulthood, then it would not have the impact on your teeth that your dentist is implying. This is because your teeth are already fully formed. Adult onset calcium deficiency will have an impact on your body, but not your teeth. If untreated it can lead to nerve problems (which you seem to have already developed), cramps, and osteoporosis.

Why would your dentist imply this if it is not possible? The truth is some dentists are more interested in fixing teeth than others. You’d think if they were in the dental field that they would be passionate about fixing teeth, but that is not always the case. Some just prefer to extract and replace them.

If You Do Need Dentures

I will stress again that you get that second opinion. However, if on the off chance that you do need to extract your teeth and get dentures, I want you to know that there is a way to prevent facial collapse. What you would need is to have your dentures held in place using dental implants. These are implant retained dentures, often called implant overdentures. These serve as prosthetic tooth roots and signal to your body that you still have teeth. As a result, it leaves your jaw bone intact.

This blog is brought to you by Arnold, MD Dentist Dr. Meredith Esposito.