Tooth loss can also cause your lips to sink in and your chin to protrude. Replacing your teeth with dentures can help you avoid dramatic changes to your face although you may still notice some degree of facial sagging or wrinkling.
The short answer is yes, dentures can definitely change the shape of your face. But if you've been missing teeth or dealing with bad, ill-fitting dentures, the change may be for the better.
When you wear complete dentures, and all your natural teeth are missing, bone shrinkage occurs. A lack of bone to support your facial muscles can affect your face shape. Additionally, dentures rest on your jawbone and make the bone shrink faster.
In most cases, you won't be able to tell that someone is wearing dentures if you have well-fitting dentures that are professionally made, are regularly cleaned, and fit well.
Because dentures rest on that gum ridge and are customized to fit its shape and size, dentures loosen as this happens, and for many patients, end up feeling too big for their mouths.
Ideally, your dentures should support your lips and cheeks, but if they are too large, they can actually push your dentures outward, resulting in puffy lips and cheeks. The correct fitting of dentures can usually prevent this, but the denture flanges that go around the gums can cause puffiness for some people.
Dentures typically cause up to 70% bone loss within the first several years of use. Partials can have similar effects. Denture prosthetics are designed to rest or ride on gum tissue and do not provide direct stimulation to the jawbone as normal teeth or implants do.
Oral surgery can prevent the devastating effects of bone loss in the jaw. What's more, for patients already dealing with jawbone shrinkage, restorative procedures can reverse facial collapse to help recapture a more youthful appearance.
Some people worry that dentures will make them look older. Thankfully, this is far from the truth. Not only are today's dentures incredibly realistic looking, but if you pair them with dental implants, you'll end up with a smile that will look and feel completely natural.
This can cause your skin to become loose which results in sagging skin on the lower third of your face and more wrinkles around your mouth. Your lips and cheeks will also lose their volume. This can result in looking older than your biological age.
Dentures Are Making Your Face Look Weird
This often causes wearers to feel like their smile is different and their resting face isn't normal. This is a common problem with new dentures but also disappears after a couple of days or once your body gets accustomed.
Laser resurfacing This is the most effective procedure for tightening loose skin. Unlike the laser treatment described above, this procedure requires some downtime. You'll need to stay home for 5 to 7 days. Laser resurfacing also gives you the fastest results.
One of the most famous people in Hollywood, Tom Cruise didn't always have his perfect smile. As he was proverbially “cutting his teeth” in Hollywood, his denture specialist was doing it literally. Tom had uneven sized teeth during his beginning years but you would never know by looking at his smile now.
If you wear dentures, the movement of dentures actually tends to accelerate jaw bone shrinkage. You may notice facial shrinkage and an aging effect, as well as loosening dentures. Other than missing teeth causing atrophy, jaw bone loss can also be caused by gum disease, oral cancer or other pathology.
Expect Discomfort Early On
As a general rule of thumb, dental professionals are likely to tell you that adjusting to new dentures takes about 30 days, on average. You might not be keen to wait this long, but you need to be careful how quickly you try to get back to normal.
There is no limit to the number of teeth you can have extracted at once. While having multiple teeth extracted during the same procedure is rare, it is sometimes the only option for patients with severe tooth decay.
Bulky dentures can cause your lips and cheeks to puff out. This can make you look like you've gained weight, especially if your dentures aren't tall enough. If dentures are really poorly made or fitted, they will just look like you have something foreign in your mouth, which you do.
New denture wearers will begin to feel more 'normal' after about 30 days. During this time, you can expect to have some soreness and discomfort as your mouth heals and you become accustomed to having a foreign object in your mouth.
If you have lost your natural teeth, then dentures can replace your missing teeth and your smile. Once again you will be able to eat, speak and smile. Three things often taken for granted while natural teeth are present. There are various types of dentures.
Implant Supported Dentures
With these types of dentures, a dental implant is used to support your denture securely. The denture offers a great amount of support for a strong foundation which allows your denture to stay securely in place. The dental implant is also long-lasting and looks natural.
When you're wearing dentures, your jawbone can lose volume, including in the chin area. This causes the muscle attachments to change, causing the muscles and the fat they support to move downward, creating a sagging chin that is often described as witch's chin.”
Remember that the measuring of your mouth for regular dentures takes place after your mouth has healed from the tooth extractions. Therefore, you could go without teeth for weeks or even months waiting for your new dentures.