Why Losing Teeth Can Change the Shape of your Face

If you’ve recently lost a tooth or had one extracted, you might be trying to readjust to how your mouth feels. You may also be noticing that you look a little bit different since you lost the tooth. You aren’t just imagining it; for a few reasons, many people notice that their face shape has changed after a tooth comes out.

If you want to know why that is, and what you can do about that, here’s a guide that can help

Why Will Losing a Tooth Change How I Look?

The structure of the face is incredibly complicated—the way that you look with your mouth closed depends on your muscles, your jaw, and yes, even your teeth. If you have a hole in your mouth where there was previously a tooth, that area of the face won’t be supported to the same extent, which you may notice when you close your mouth.

However, your jaw is also important to the look of your face, and tooth loss can affect that as well. Once an area of the jaw is no longer supporting a tooth, your body will send fewer nutrients to it. Over time, that can cause bone loss in that part of the jaw. Naturally, this can cause that side of your face to sag, contributing to wrinkles and the appearance of aging.

How Do I Fix My Appearance After Tooth Loss

If you’ve lost a tooth, then you might experience bone loss because your jaw isn’t being used. Dentures and bridges can fix the appearance of your smile, but they, unfortunately, don’t address this issue.

However, dental implants are able to stop bone loss from proceeding. By attaching directly to the jaw, they encourage the body to send nutrients into the area, and those nutrients foster bone growth. That’s why dental implants tend to be one of the top recommendations for tooth replacement options.

If you want to restore your appearance after having lost a tooth, your dentist would be happy to work with you. Ask them about this problem, and they’ll better inform you about your options.

About the Author

Dr. Shandy Condie has been helping her patients achieve incredible oral health for over 20 years, and in that time she’s heard lots of people complain about their experiences with dentists. She’s also happy to have changed a lot of minds. Dr. Condie graduated from the Creighton School of Dentistry, and she has trained extensively at the prestigious Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies.

If you have any questions about tooth loss, she can be reached at her website or by phone at (480) 279-3100.