How do missing teeth affect your jawbone and face?

If you have a missing tooth, you already know how it can affect your self-confidence and make eating difficult. But missing teeth affect your jawbone and face in more ways than you realise. If you have missing teeth, read on to find out how they can affect the overall shape and health of your jawbone and face.

Your lower jawbone can deteriorate

If you break your arm and cannot use it for months, the muscle will probably shrink a little because it is not being used. Your jawbone is similar; if there are no teeth, the jawbone shrinks. Only one If you are missing one or two teeth, you may not notice the change, but if all or most of your teeth are missing, this can weaken your jawbone. A weak jawbone can cause many problems, such as a broken jaw and tooth loss because it cannot support the remaining teeth. Dental implants and dental bridges cannot be placed on a weak jawbone. Naturally, your only remedy is prostheses.  What you can do otherwise, depending on your budget, is to have your dentist re-correct your jawbone with bone grafts.

Your sinuses may be affected

If a large number of upper teeth are removed, your lower jawbone may not deteriorate, but your upper jawbone will. Even a small change in the size of the jawbone, such as missing a single tooth, can cause problems with your sinuses. Your sinuses are close to your teeth. In fact, the roots of some people's back molars penetrate the sinus cavity. Reducing this brings the sinus cavity closer to the teeth. This may not be a problem if you are aiming to get the tooth fixed, but if you want a dental implant, you will need a sinus lift to add bone.

Your Bite May Be Affected

Even a missing tooth can affect your bite. At first, you may not notice anything except food getting stuck in the gap, but over time your teeth will shift to fill the gap. This can cause your teeth to bump into each other in the wrong place when eating or talking, which increases the risk of cracks. Both a dental bridge and dental implant will prevent this from happening. Your bite may also be affected due to changes in your jaw bones. Your teeth stop hitting each other at the right time and point. Unfortunately, a dental bridge cannot solve this problem because it does not stimulate the jawbone and keep it healthy. A dental implant will stimulate the jawbone to keep it strong.

You Get Depressions on Your Face

Finally, if you have too many missing teeth for a long time, the overall shape of the lower half of your face can change. Shrinking jawbones can make your face appear shorter than it should be. A shrinking lower jawbone can also cause the bone to rotate forwards.

The lips can also change because they no longer have support.

The muscles around the lips start to change, causing more wrinkles than usual, making you look older. The upper lip may also become prominent and appear longer, which can make your nose appear larger.

Teeth are important for eating and speaking, but they also help to shape your face. Missing a single tooth may not change your appearance much, but it can create complications such as shifting teeth. If you are missing teeth, you can use dental implants or dental implants to help you get your smile back. it might be a good idea to think about bridges.