facial collapse Archives - Susan M. Dennis, D.D.S

Can I Prevent My Jaw Collapsing with Dentures?

Posted on December 3, 2025 by writeradmin.

I have been diagnosed with a calcium deficiency. My dentist feels my teeth are a losing battle, but I’m only in my 30s. the idea of being in dentures at my age has me absolutely in tears. If I do have to lose all my teeth and get dentures, is there any way for me to prevent my jaw from collapsing? I don’t want to look like my grandmother.

Ada

Dear Ada,

If you are ever in the unfortunate position of losing all of your teeth, then there is a way to prevent facial collapse. What you will have to do is convince your body that you still have teeth, so that it will leave your jawbone intact in order to retain the teeth. If you get dental implants, they serve as prosthetic teeth roots, which will prevent facial collapse. You can anchor your dentures to the dental implants and they will remain secure. It is a much better solution than completely removable dentures.

Before you do that, I want you to get a second opinion. A calcium deficiency in adulthood has no effect on your teeth, which are already fully formed. If your dentist is using that as the reason than I have my doubts about his integrity. In that case, it is more likely that he is one of those dentists who does not enjoy fixing teeth. He’d rather just extract them. You can do better than that.

If you are diligent with your oral healthcare and are still having more than the normal amount of tooth problems. Sometimes it is just genetic. Sometimes it is a medication you are on. Or, it could be that you snack a lot. Snacking a lot between meals makes it hard for the minerals in your mouth to do their job in fighting bacteria. Limiting snacking could help.

A calcium deficiency does cause problems with your body, including nerve damage and osteoporosis, so you want to take it seriously and get the treatment you need. However, you don’t have to worry about it damaging your teeth.

This blog is brought to you by a gentle dentist in Kalamazoo Dr. Susan Dennis.

Can’t Afford Anything By Dentures

Posted on December 1, 2025 by writeradmin.

I am in tears. I have teeth that are falling apart and my dentist says that it is not worth it for me to keep working on them. He’s suggesting that I just extract them and get dental implants. I saw that they can look great and will stay in your mouth, but they are super expensive. I can’t afford that. I’m on my own and don’t make a lot of money. If I can’t find a way to get them at a discount, then I am left with dentures, which is the last thing I want at they age of 34. I’ve been crying since I saw the price. If I agreed to do an advertisement or something for a dentist would they give me the dental implants? I look great except for my teeth.

Jessica

Dear Jessica,

Before you jump into extracting your teeth, I suggest that you get a second opinion on your teeth. Dentists have varying degrees of willingness to work hard to save teeth. Yours may be one who just wants to extract them and be done with it. Another dentist may be wiling to save your teeth and then you won’t need the implants.

If it turns out that you do need to replace your teeth, doing advertisements for a dentist is unlikely to get you free or even discounted dental implants. This is because the dentist can get people to do those for free. Needing to replace your teeth is stressful. I know you are in a tough spot and I understand that you are scared. There are a few options that may make your dental implants more affordable.

Generally, when patients gets implant supported dentures, they get four to six dental implants and anchor the dentures to them. You could instead get just two implants for your dentures. These are known as snap on dentures. It will at least secure the dentures and help prevent facial collapse.

Another option is to try an institution that teaches dentists how to place dental implants. Because the dentist is learning and will be working with an instructor, appointments will take longer. To make up for the inconvenience to you in time, they will do the procedure at a discount.

If neither of these work for you, then you could start with the removable dentures while you save up for the implants.

This blog is brought to you by compassionate dentist in Kalamazoo Dr. Susan Dennis.

Are Dental Implants the Best Option for My Mother?

Posted on September 22, 2025 by writeradmin.

My mother is 82 years old. She has a dental bridge for most of her upper teeth. Now the dentist is telling her that she needs to remove her lower teeth now and get a dental implant supported bridge. He stressed the implants were necessary because it was her lower jaw and without it she’d be dealing with facial collapse. My concern is that she is very frail at this point in her life and on several medications. Is this really the best option for her?

Amy

Dear Amy,

I am sorry you and your mother are having to deal with this. Let me say first, that while facial collapse is a serious side effect of removable dentures, in your mother’s case, I do not think the benefits outway the risks.

Let me explain a bit about facial collapse. Whenever someone’s teeth are removed, their body immediately recognizes that. As a result, it begins a mineral resorption process. Because there are no longer any teeth roots, the body interprets that as you not needing those minerals to support your teeth. It resorbs those minerals in order to use them where it perceives they will be more needed. This has the unfortunate side effect of shrinking the jawbone. Eventually, there is not enough jawbone left for the dentures to stay in.

Having dental implants prevents that from happening because the implants serve as prosthetic tooth roots and signals to your body that you still have teeth which need to be secured. Because of that it leaves your jawbone intact.

The process of facial collapse takes about ten years to really start making a huge difference. Given your mother’s age, I’m not sure this will be a problem for her. As she also has health issues, I don’t think it will be worth the risk. Instead, she can just have removable dentures. This will be easier on both of you.

This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

New Denture Won’t Stay In

Posted on April 15, 2025 by writeradmin.

I had a denture done, but have problems from the beginning. He did an impression, a wax bite, and two wax try-ins. I noticed on the second try-in that the denture wasn’t staying in, which alarmed me. I mentioned it to the dentist who said that is not a problem because that try in was about the teeth and nothing else. But, guess what? When the final denture was done it wouldn’t stay in. There was no suction. My dentist said to give it a week in order for my gums to adjust to the denture. After a week, there was no change. I went back to see my dentist. He said that there was probably an issue with the bite. He ground down some of the back teeth, gave me some fixodent, and told me to give it yet another week for my gums to adjust. As I was checking out, I heard him whispering something to his assistant about doing something called a reline if this doesn’t work. Should I trust him and do this if that is where we end up?

Kevin

Dear Kevin,

I’ll say up front that I’m not impressed. Telling you that your gums will adjust is bogus and a stalling tactic. However, this can be fixed. First, the good news. A reline should be a good solution for your situation if done right. Here is where I think your dentist went wrong and you will want to prevent that with the reline as well.

Going strictly from what you described, it sounds like your dentist took some shortcuts. While this is common practice for many dentists that could work out, in your case it obviously didn’t. The reasons that so many dentists take a short cut on these is because there is massive competition in the denture market. If they can save some money in order to lower their prices, it may get them an edge on that competition.

In order to get the best impression, your dentist would want to do a two-step impression. First, is border molding. This would use a heavier impression material which should register the denture border. This is important because the border is what creates the suction you need in order to keep the denture in. It has to press into the tissue a bit to create that suction, so a heavier material is better for that.

The second step is a wash, which is a lighter a impression material used to fill up the interior of the impression. This will register all the soft tissue.

Dentists that try to save time and money will use a medium impression material in order to do both at once. Honestly, much of the time it creates and adequate denture. Obviously not always.

The reline should get a better impression because it will get closer to accurate. Hopefully, your dentist has not already taken that impression. In that case, ask him to do the two step impression and not rely on the medium bodied one step process.

Second, I also want to recommend that you look into facial collapse, which is a consequence of long-term use of removable dentures. As you are making a change anyway, this would be the time to understand all of your options.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Will Medical Insurance Pay for Dental Implants?

Posted on February 13, 2025 by writeradmin.

I have pretty bad periodontal disease and have been wearing an upper denture because of how bad my teeth were. I had the denture plate and think I would be better off with implant supported dentures. Is there a chance that my medical insurance would pay for this?

Katie

Dear Katie,

You are not alone in having problems with dentures. Unfortunately, you will not be able to get your medical insurance to pay for this. There are even people without teeth that can’t use dentures because of facial collapse. They literally cannot eat and their medical insurance won’t cover it.

There is a possible temporary solution for your problem with the dental plate. That will give you a chance to save up for dental implants. I would also take this time to deal with your periodontal disease, because until that is dealt with you will not be able to have dental implants anyway.

Screenshot

There’s a new procedure that was developed by a dentist in Great Britain. He realized if the denture plate was slightly curved just beneath the vibrating line it helps some patients with a strong gag reflex do better with the dentures.

Then, once you have healthy gums, you may need to look into your bone structure. Periodontal disease can eat away at your bone. That bone will be necessary in order to keep your dental implants in place. Don’t panic if you do not have enough. In that case, you can have a bone grafting procedure done which will build back up your bone so that you can have the implant overdentures you want.

Focus on healing your gums and saving up, but go ahead and try the procedure with the dental plate to make things more tolerable for yourself.

I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

What If Dentures Is All You Can Afford?

Posted on January 20, 2025 by writeradmin.

I have a problem with my teeth, especially my upper teeth. I’ve been losing enamel and most of the teeth have cavities. Many of them need crowns and a few need to be extracted. It may be easier to extract them. Every one is telling me to get dental implants, but I don’t have a lot of money. What if dentures are all I can afford?

Celeste

Dear Celeste,

Everyone is in different circumstances. My first piece of advice to you would be to focus on saving the teeth you can. Natural teeth are far more useful to you than any tooth replacement. If you were losing all of your teeth and they couldn’t be saved I would say that it would be fine to place dentures on the upper teeth. These are held in by suction.

If you were dealing with lower teeth, while you might have to start with dentures, I would strongly suggest that you save up for dental implants. It is much more important on the lower arch. This is because the dentures on a lower arch rest on the ridge of your jawbone. Unfortunately, once your teeth are removed, your body will begin to resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body.

While it does this to be efficient with your body’s resources, it has the side effect of slowly shrinking your jawbone. Eventually, there won’t be enough of the ridge there for your dentures to stay in place. In dental circles this is known as facial collapse.

Getting dental implants prevents that. The implants signal to your body that you still have teeth. Because of that, it leaves your jawbone alone. This means that you will no longer have to worry about facial collapse.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Can Drinking Soda Lead to Needing Dentures?

Posted on November 25, 2024 by writeradmin.

I drink a lot of soda and now my gums are bleeding. My dentist said it is from the sodas and if I keep it up, I’m going to need dentures. Is this true or is he just trying to scare me?

Christine F.

Dear Christine,

I’m glad you wrote. Just drinking sodas won’t necessarily lead to you needing dentures. It can lead to serious decay and gum disease, which can then lead to losing your teeth. There was a study done that showed if you swallow your soda quickly instead of sipping it and letting it sit your mouth briefly, that you are less likely to develop decay. Of course, this is dependent on your keeping up with your oral hygiene care as well.

The bleeding of your gums has me concerned. This is a sign of gum disease and will lead to bone loss and losing your teeth. Then you will need to replace your teeth.

However, this is likely still preventable. Take the gum disease seriously and get it treated. I’m not sure why your dentist wasn’t giving solutions instead of threats, but there are ways to get your teeth and gums healthy again.

When you are brushing, don’t shy away from the bleeding gums. Get in there and brush them thoroughly. You want to keep bacteria from breeding.

Problems with Dentures

If you do get dentures, make sure they are implant supported dentures or you’ll end up with a host of “quality of life” problems. For instance, even the best fitting dentures will reduce your chewing capacity by 50%. However, the biggest issue you will deal with is facial collapse.

Your body knows when you have teeth roots in your jawbone. Once your teeth are removed, it will immediately begin resorbing the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body in order to be efficient with your body’s resources. Unfortunately, this shrinks your jawbone. At first, they will just slip and slide. Then, they’ll periodically fall out. Eventually, you won’t be able to keep them in your mouth at all.

Having dental implants placed to anchor your dentures solves all of these problems. These are sometimes called implant overdentures.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Upper Denture is Making Me Gag

Posted on September 16, 2024 by writeradmin.

Can you give me some advice? I have removable dentures. My lower denture feels fine, but every time I put my upper denture in, it causes me to gag. Is there anything that can help me with this?

Sheila

Dear Sheila,

Dentures come with a host of problems, one of which is what you are experiencing now. There are many patients who have trouble with an upper denture. There are a couple of solutions for you. First, the ideal solution is to get implant supported dentures, pictured above. This will completely eliminate the need for anything to go across your palate. While it will help your comfort and stop the gagging, it is more urgent for the lower arch to have the dental implants.

This is to prevent what is known in dental circles as facial collapse. When your teeth are first removed, your body kicks into preservation mode. It begins resorbing the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body that it perceives as you no longer needing because you do not have teeth to support. This slowly shrinks your jawbone. This is not much of a problem for your upper dentures because those are held in by suction. However, the lower dentures rest on that jawbone. After about ten years or so, you no longer have enough jawbone left to retain your dentures.

The best thing you can do is have four or more dental implants placed in each arch and then anchor the dentures to them. This will both eliminate the problem of facial collapse as well as take care of the gagging problem you are having with the upper denture.

An Alternative Solution for Your Upper Denture

If getting them on both arches is impossible, there is another potential solution for the upper denture. Upper dentures typically go all the way over the hard palate to the vibrating line of the soft palate. This can be a cause for gagging.

A prosthodontist, Dr. Finlay Sutton (Lancashire, England), published his technique of cutting the denture in a way that preserves the suction, but helps prevent the gagging in some patients. You could try this and then get the implants on the lower dentures in order to preserve your bone structure.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Should I Keep My Last Two Teeth?

Posted on July 2, 2024 by writeradmin.

I have been losing teeth left and right. I’m about to be down to just my two front upper teeth. My lower teeth are fairly healthy for now. I have two partial dentures on the top and I hate them. Really hate them. They move around too much. My question is, should I keep these last two upper teeth and stick with the two partials or just give up and have them extracted and get myself complete upper dentures. Would they be more comfortable? I know it is better to keep as much natural tooth structure as possible, but I’m just miserable with these partial dentures. I can’t really eat with them in and usually take them out and eat with just the two front teeth, which has caused me to retrain myself on how to eat and it is mostly a soft diet.

Andy

Dear Andy,

Bear in mind that I have not examined you or seen any x-rays. I’m basing this on just how this was described, but I think I’m grasping your situation. While in most cases it is better to keep your natural teeth, I think in your specific case is a bit different. First, I do not think that your last two upper teeth will last much longer if all the stress of eating is placed on them. Removing those last two upper teeth and getting dentures would be fine.

If you are looking for the best possible situation in your case, I would get implant supported dentures. The dental implants will help you eat again. They are the closest thing to having healthy, natural teeth in your mouth again. You’d even be able to eat steak if that was something you enjoy eating. They are expensive, though.

If you were talking about your lower arch, I would say it was essential that you get the implant overdentures. This is because when you don’t have any teeth, your body resorbs the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body. While your upper dentures are held in by suction, your lower dentures just rest on the ridge of your jawbone. With the minerals being resorbed, it will mean that you eventually will not have enough jawbone left to even keep in your dentures. In dental circles, this is known as facial collapse.

Having the dental implants in your jaw signals to your body that you still have teeth and need the material in your jawbone to retain them.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Getting Affordable Implant Parts Online

Posted on May 28, 2024 by writeradmin.

I have snap-on dentures that connect to dental implants. I need to replace the male retention caps. My dentist charges me $30 each for these. That may not sound like a lot of money to some people, but it is a fortune to me. With prices going up on everything, I couldn’t afford enough groceries this week. If I don’t get new retention caps, I won’t be able to eat anyway. I noticed online you could get 4 for less than the price my dentist charges me for one. However, the only way to order them is if you are a dentist. Do you know of another way for me to get these?

Adam

Dear Adam,

First, I want to tell you that you chose a great tooth replacement option getting dental implants. This not only improves your quality of life but prevents you from getting facial collapse. I am sorry that you are having such a hard time. This economy is causing so many to struggle. No one should have to choose between food and their medical needs. While it is true that dentists have overhead and do need to mark up things in order to cover those expenses, this item seems like it would be a such a small amount toward his or her overhead that I don’t think your dentist should complain about giving them to you closer to cost. I would start by explaining your situation to your dentist and see if they are willing to work with you.

If they are not, you still have a couple of good options. First, I would call around to other dental offices and talk to the them. Usually it is the staff who does the ordering for the dentist so you may find a sympathetic ear who will get them to you at cost. Look for dental offices who advertise as being affordable or who provide affordable dental implants. These dentists tend to look for ways to make things a bit more affordable for those who need some extra help.

If you can’t find anyone to help you, there is another way around this. I have noticed on eBay that there are overseas sellers who do not require you to be a dentist at very reasonable prices. The one issue you will find with this is that you need to know exactly what you need when it comes to the varying strengths or resistance you need.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.