Teeth do more than you think… in addition to chewing, eating,
speaking, and smiling, they also act to support the height of you face.
Envision your mouth consisting of two sections, anterior
(front teeth) and posterior (back teeth). The anterior teeth are used primarily
for cutting and tearing food, while the posterior teeth are designed mostly for
grinding and chewing. Less commonly
known however is the support teeth provide to create the vertical height of the
face. If teeth are lost or shortened (i.e.
grinding) the height of the face closes down, also known as “bite collapse”. Such collapse affects other surrounding jaw
and facial structures including skin, muscles, and jaw joints. As the height of the jaw decreases, wrinkles
increase and the corners of the mouth droop. Additionally, eating food may become more difficult,
as front teeth by design are meant more for tearing food rather than grinding. Of course there are also the significant social
consequences (smiling, speaking, singing, laughing, etc.) that are affected from
tooth loss. These combined with the inability to
effectively chew a more nutritionally sound diet all lead to overall poor
general and mental health.
We at Avant Dentistry embrace the proactive approach in
preventing our patients from experiencing these problems. Patients that are
noticing these signs, please feel free to call us to discuss the various
treatment plan options that may be available for you.
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