I am only 32-years-old and have recently been diagnosed with a severe calcium deficiency. My dentist said this is why my teeth are always falling apart. He wants to extract the rest of my teeth and give me dentures. I have heard that getting dentures can make your face collapse, which makes you look like a grandmother. I still have two toddlers. I want to look like their mother, NOT their grandmother. Is there anything I can do which will help prevent this from happening? I am getting treatment for my calcium deficiency, but my dentist says it is too late for what is going on with my teeth.

Avery

Dear Avery,

For those who are unaware, facial collapse is something that happens when you get dentures. As a result of no longer having teeth, your body immediately begins resorbing the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere, as a means of being efficient with your body’s resources. After all, you don’t have teeth to support any longer so you no longer need that bone.

The problem with that is after ten or so years, you no longer have enough jawbone left to support your dentures and end up looking like the woman on the left side of the picture above. This woman now looks decades older than she really is.

While there is a way to prevent this that I will go over, I don’t think you will need to have your teeth extracted. Certainly not all of them. I have no idea why your dentist is blaming your calcium deficiency for your teeth issues. That has zero impact on what is going on with your teeth now.

Your teeth are fully formed so developing a calcium deficiency in adulthood will not impact the health of your teeth. It can cause cramps, nerve damage, and osteoporosis. So why is your dentist saying this? I’m only guessing here, but dentists have different levels of willingness to fight to save teeth. Yours seems to be on the low end and all he wants to do is extract them and be done.

In your place, I would look for a dentist who is willing to put in the work to save your teeth. Don’t get anything done until you get a second opinion. See another dentist for a cleaning and check up and get their unbiased opinion. Do not tell them what your other dentist said. Just let them examine you and give their recommendations.

Preventing Facial Collapse

For those who do have to have all their teeth extracted, there is a way to prevent facial collapse. If you have dental implants placed, it signals to your brain that there are still roots of your teeth there and therefore it will not resorb any of the minerals from your bone, thereby leaving it completely intact.

Once the implants are placed and integrated with your bone, then your dentist can anchor a set of dentures to them. These are known as implant overdentures and will be completely secure, unlike removable dentures.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.