What You Should Know Before Getting a Tooth Extraction
Are you planning on getting a tooth extraction? Before you go through with it, there are a couple of important factors to consider. We’ll start by saying extraction may not be your only option. Depending on your situation, you can get partial dentures, dental implants, or bridges for your missing teeth. Even just a couple missing teeth (even in the back) affect your entire jaw and mouth and have very adverse effects. This is why we highly recommend replacing the missing teeth.
You may think that having one or more missing teeth in the back of your mouth won’t affect your appearance or your tooth’s function. Unfortunately, this is not true. Your back teeth play an essential role in maintaining the vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO). VDO is the distance between your upper and lower jaws when your mouth is closed. Once removed, your teeth can no longer keep the proper VDO, and your mouth will appear to collapse inward. Along with this, your back teeth are a lot bigger, so they can carry the force from chewing. With these teeth removed, the force transfers to your front teeth, which are not adept at handling this. Eventually, they will begin to loosen and fracture.
The image above shows a middle-aged woman in three different scenarios. The first is how she would look if she kept her natural teeth. The second image is how she would look immediately after getting her teeth pulled. The third one is how she would look if her teeth had been pulled ten years prior. As you can tell, she looks much older in the second two photos despite being the same age in all of them. This image shows that the lack of proper VDO looks like, with the mouth appearing sunken inward.
The above image provides another example of how tooth loss can change the facial structure. The first image is of a young woman with all of her teeth. The second image is with her back teeth missing. As you can see, even with her front teeth, her chin still shifts forward and give the appearance of the mouth collapsing. The third image shows how she looks when her front teeth are eventually pulled after they begin to loosen or crack. The reason the jaw becomes sunken is from alveolar bone loss. Alveolar bone is the thick part of the jaw around the teeth that provide a sturdy foundation and supports the root. Without the tooth, the bone has nothing left to support and reabsorb away. This is why you can see the jaw becoming thinner. As the bone loss continues, there will be even more dramatic changes in appearance.
Why You Should Consider Bone Grafting
Bone loss and improper VDO isn’t a life sentence after tooth extraction. You can still preserve the bone and gums at the site of the tooth extraction. Bone grafting is a procedure of adding processed bone minerals to the bone beneath the gums. The body will begin to deposit new bone cells around that area, maintaining the structure of the bones and gums. To learn more about bone grafting, visit some of the articles we wrote about the topic on our blog. In most cases, it is the standard care during dental implants. Crowns and bridges done without bone grafting run the risk of adverse esthetic outcomes. The image below provides an example of this.
This patient’s right central incisor was extracted without any bone grafting. You can tell how the right central incisor is much longer than the left due to the gum loss. To make up for the receded gum line, the replacement tooth had to be much longer than the other teeth. After their extraction, the patient experienced loss in both the bone and the soft tissue around the extracted area. With the use of bone grafting, this bone and gum loss can be avoided. You can see how a patient who did bone grafting had her gums and bone stay preserved in the image below.
Conclusion
Your dental treatment has a significant impact on your life. From the appearance of your jaw and smile to the functionality of your teeth. You can talk with your dentist about all your available options. Remember to ask them about restorative options before getting a tooth extraction. Bone grafting isn’t a “nice benefit,” but an essential part of preserving your bone and gums. A bone grafting procedure can give you that winning smile you love to show off!
If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment with Dr. Carmichael, feel free to contact us today!
