I was looking in the mirror and noticed I look a lot older. The problem seems to be my jaw as well as the area around my mouth. I did some looking online and it seems like if you wear dentures it can make your jaw smaller. I think that is what is happening to me. I read snap-on dentures can help but I don’t want to get them if they really won’t do any good. Is what I’m reading online accurate? I’d love to fix my jaw.
Fannie
Dear Fannie,
You are definitely on the right track. If you’ve had dentures for a while, your jawbone will have shrunk significantly. This gives you an aged appearance as well as causing your dentures to slip. Eventually, you’ll not have jawbone left to retain your dentures. This process is known as facial collapse.
Snap-on dentures are a type of affordable dental implants. They use two dental implants that attach to your dentures in two places. It will help with bone loss where there are dental implants and will also aide the appearance of your jaw. Though, if your budget allows you can do better.
One thing you’ll want to look at is implant overdentures. This will use four to six dental implants and anchor your dentures to them. While the snap-on dentures won’t fall off, they do wiggle a bit. With implant supported dentures, they are completely secure. It will be like having a healthy set of teeth again.
Dental Implants after Facial Collapse
Depending on how much bone structure you’ve lost, there may not be enough there to support dental implants at this point. That doesn’t mean you can’t get them, but you will need an additional procedure first.
Bone grafting can build up the bone in your jawbone which will allow you to get whichever treatment you think works best with your goals and your budget. The key will be talking to a dentist who can give you all your options.
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.