A procedure that is more common than most people realize is tooth extraction or even just the loss of a tooth due to an accident or other circumstance. Usually, when a tooth extraction occurs, it results from poor care of the tooth. No matter how you lose a tooth though, it can still impact the shape and structure of your face.
Your teeth serve specific purposes and if they aren’t there, they are unable to properly complete the task of keeping your jaw and face well supported and aligned.
Here’s how missing teeth can possibly change your face shape.
Alignment of Your Jaw is affected
Even if it’s your less obvious back teeth that are missing, your face’s appearance can still change.
Your molar’s main job is to keep you properly shaped and aligned. If you wait a while to properly replace your back molars, you could very well regret it, as your jaw will begin to shift over time and negatively affect your appearance.
Your Face Can Sag
It’s obvious your front teeth will have a strong impact on your appearance. But what you may not realize is different side effects may occur as well, such as shifting and sagging of your face.
A big job completed by your front teeth is holding up and supporting the muscles at the front of your mouth. Without the front teeth to perform this task, you’re left with an unsupported and sagging face.
You Can Experience Bone Loss
Your jawbone contains tooth roots that stimulate and function well while you are chewing. Your jawbone is no longer stimulated when you lose a tooth. This leads to possible bone loss, which can negatively affect how your face looks.
It will appear weaker and look more deteriorated, which is also how your teeth will feel. Not only will you feel uncomfortable, that sense of discomfort will also be reflected on your face as well as your angle will change in a negative way.
Your Gums Will Reshape
When you lose a tooth, your gums that were originally wrapped around your tooth will start to reshape themselves.
Because these gums and ridges have nowhere else to go and no teeth to wrap around, they will start to vanish, which rids your jaw of a lot of support it once had.
This can create different negative appearances your face such as the bottom half of your face can fall apart, your chin can stick out further, your lips can become thinner, and wrinkles can even form around your mouth.
Conclusion
It’s easy to see that losing a tooth is anything but attractive. Unfortunately, your appearance can worsen as time goes on and you continue to not replace the missing tooth.
As long as you take care of your teeth to prevent them from falling out or be sure to replace them as soon as possible, you won’t have to worry about the reshaping of your face due to missing teeth.
