As you age, your face can begin to change. Your skin loses collagen, causing it to sag a bit, and fine lines can appear around your eyes, forehead, and mouth. If you ever spent any time in the sun without protection, brown spots could develop in areas of heavy exposure. But while there’s not a whole lot you can do to stop any of these changes once they’ve begun, there is one way you can prevent the appearance of rapid aging that you may not have realized.
If you’re missing one or more permanent teeth, it could be aging your face faster than you’d like. Here’s why this happens, and what you can do to stop it in its tracks.
How Missing Teeth Ages Your Face
Your teeth don’t just make it easier to eat and speak, they also help maintain the structure of your face. When you have a full set, your jaw, lips, and cheekbones are positioned where they should be. When you lose a tooth, however, this can change. Suddenly, your face appears sunken or sagging, making you look tired or haggard and older than your years. With time, your jawbone can deteriorate, causing even more tooth loss and making you look even older.
How to Stop Facial Changes from Tooth Loss
The good news is that there are ways to prevent these types of changes from happening due to lost teeth. Dentures can help temporarily fill in your face, however they don’t do much to stop jawbone deterioration, and you can still experience these changes. In this scenario, dental implants are the clear solution. They are permanent restorations that not only replace your missing teeth, but also protect your jawbone from degradation and help maintain the structure of your face.
Dental implants are attached to your jawbone, so they work just like your real teeth. They have greater biteforce than other types of restorations, they look and feel natural, and though they cannot stop you from aging entirely, they can prevent the facial collapse that is so common with lost teeth.
Don’t let missing adult teeth make you look and feel older than your years. Maintain the beautiful, healthy structure of your face while enjoying the benefits of a full set of teeth with the help of dental implants.
About Dr. Grill
Dr. Kevin Grill is no stranger to dental work, having been on the receiving end quite a bit as a child. In fact, it was the skill, care, and compassion shown to him by his own dentist that encouraged him to want to become a dentist himself. Today, he is proud to provide his own patients with a high level of service and is always looking for ways to help them improve their oral health and showcase their beautiful smiles!
To schedule an appointment for dental implants at Northwest Family Dental of Huntsville, please visit our website or call us today at 937-843-3932.