05 Jun 2023
Dental implants offer many quality-of-life benefits, but did you know they can also change the shape of your face? Depending on which teeth you lost and how long they have been missing, you could come out of dental implant surgery looking like a whole new you. Use this guide to learn more about how getting dental implants in Mississauga can alter your appearance and to get the answers to some questions that may be on your mind regarding the procedure’s effects.
How Dental Implants Can Change Your Face Shape
Dental implants can greatly impact your face shape and overall appearance. Getting a dental implant:
- Improves Your Chewing Ability. Missing teeth may make it harder to chew your favourite foods. Implants replace these missing teeth with strong prosthetic ones, allowing you to stimulate your jawbone and keep it from degrading.
- Corrects Facial Asymmetry. Missing teeth may cause droopiness on one side of your face. Filling in those spots with implants levels out your bite and ensures that both sides of your jawbone receive the stimulation they need.
- Has Anti-Aging Effects. Bone loss from missing teeth can cause common signs of aging, like wrinkles and saggy skin. Implants give your jawbone the support it needs to keep your facial muscles in good condition and reduce the impact of these problems.
- Promotes Properly Aligned Teeth. Losing teeth often leaves your smile looking lopsided and may cause you to feel self-conscious about the gap. Replacing the missing tooth with an implant solves this problem and may restore your confidence.
Does Bone Grafting Change Face Shape?
Yes, bone grafting can change the shape of your face. Bone loss is the reason that missing teeth are so damaging to facial aesthetics. If you replace that lost bone with grafts, you will not only give your new implants a stronger anchor but also restore the original shape of your face.
Dental Implants Improve the Health of Your Jawbone
When you lose a tooth, your jawbone begins a process known as resorption. This process breaks down the bone around the missing tooth and absorbs the material back into your body. If you quickly replace the lost tooth with a dental implant, however, this process is halted. Your body will react as if your natural tooth is still in your mouth, keeping your jawbone intact.
Can Dental Implants Cause Face Numbness?
Facial numbness is a rare side effect of dental implant surgery. Your lingual nerve may be damaged or irritated during your anesthetic injections or due to the surgery itself. If this happens, you may experience a lack of sensation around your tongue or jaw.
Most facial numbness from dental implant surgery is temporary and will go away on its own after a few weeks. If the problem persists after three weeks, book an appointment with your dentist. You will need an x-ray to see if you have a compressed nerve around your implant site. If this is the case, you may need additional surgery to correct the problem.
How Do Missing Teeth Change Face Shape?
Missing teeth alter your appearance in five distinct ways.
- 1. A Shorter Face. Without two full arches of teeth making contact with each other, you will lose some of the dimension of your face. It will look shorter due to overlapping areas of your jaw.
- 2. Wrinkles and Lines. The more bone structure you lose, the weaker your facial muscles become. Over time, this leads to wrinkles and fine lines, especially around the mouth.
- 3. Thin Lips. Your teeth provide support for your lips, making them look fuller. Without this support, they may look thinner than usual.
- 4. Pointed Chin. The same facial muscle weakness that causes wrinkles also causes the skin on your face to sag, creating the appearance of an unnaturally pointy chin.
- 5. Droopy Eyes. Bone loss may also weaken the facial muscles around your eyes, leading to wrinkly, saggy skin the area and a droopy look.
Does the Face Collapse After Tooth Extraction?
Your face will undergo some changes after even just one tooth extraction, but the problem usually does not become severe until most of your teeth are gone. Most people who experience facial collapse due to tooth extraction have been missing the majority of their teeth for many years before the problem becomes apparent.
Nevertheless, replacing missing teeth as soon as possible is critical to managing these effects. The longer you go without a tooth in a particular spot, the more likely you are to develop bone loss in that area. Once that happens, the problem can only be fixed with a bone graft. The cost of a tooth implant is lower without this additional procedure.
Will Dental Implants Lift My Face?
Yes. Dental implants will support your jaw structure and cheekbones, filling out the lower third of your face and improving the appearance of your skin. Your face will look fuller and younger, and your beautiful, straight smile will only enhance your radiant new look. Many patients end up looking years younger after getting dental implants than they did before the procedure.
Get Beautiful, Natural-Looking Dental Implants Near Me in Mississauga
Getting dental implants will make a massive difference to your face’s structure and appearance. Invest in your self-confidence by booking a consultation appointment with Trillium Smile Dentistry to learn more about dental implant costs in Mississauga or what the tooth implant procedure is like.
Dr. Tousi’s extensive cosmetic dentistry experience allows her to produce stunning results for every patient she works with. Contact us today to book your appointment and let her create a customized treatment plan to get your dental implants in place and your face looking full and youthful again.
Also Read:
- A Complete Guide to Dental Implants
- 7 Tips for Faster Dental Implant Recovery
- Who Should Get a Dental Implant?