If you’ve heard of gum disease, you should know it’s bad news. The condition really harms your oral health and tends to be painful and irritating. Still, most folks aren’t aware that gum disease affects face shape as well. Unless you get treatment, it’ll make you look older and worn down. Your Topeka dentist will explain the matter in detail if you want. To that end, here’s a primer on gum disease, how it affects face shape, and ways to avoid it.
Context: What’s Gum Disease?
To learn how gum disease affects your face’s shape, you must first know its basics. Those facts will give you context and help you grasp the causes involved.
Gum disease is an infection of your gums – the soft tissues around your teeth. It often occurs due to plaque buildup, usually caused by poor eating and bad oral care. The disease normally starts as “gingivitis,” a mild gum inflammation with only minor symptoms. However, it eventually turns into “periodontitis” or a full-blown infection if it isn’t treated in time.
As you may expect, gum disease is terrible for oral health in its advanced form. It can make your gums ache and bleed, loosen your teeth, and worse when unchecked. Most patients need a lot of dental work to repair the damage.
How Does It Affect Face Shape?
Though it isn’t discussed much, gum disease worsens your face shape. It makes your face look older than you actually are in severe cases.
You see, one of gum disease’s more severe effects is tooth loss. That problem will make your jaw shrink and erode as it loses crucial stimulus. This slow erosion results in facial collapse, a condition that morphs your face to look sunken, hollow, and aged.
While missing teeth can be replaced well enough, a shrunken jaw isn’t easily fixed. Proper treatment may require invasive bone grafts that add tissue to your jawbone. For that reason (among others), it’s best to prevent gum disease or treat it at once.
What Can You Do to Avoid It?
Thankfully, there are several great ways to reduce your risk of gum disease. They include:
- Practice Good Oral Hygiene – If you brush twice daily and floss once daily, less plaque will build in your mouth. You’ll then be in less danger of getting gum disease.
- Stick to a Mouth-Healthy Diet – A sugary diet of junk food makes gum disease likely. Given that fact, have more mouth-healthy meals with lean proteins, leafy greens, and crisp fruits.
- See Your Dentist Often – By attending dental checkups every six months, your dentist can detect (and treat) gum disease before it advances.
While gum disease affects face shape, you can work to keep it at bay. Just talk to your dental provider to learn the proper methods and treatments.
About the Practice
Michel Dental has two Kansas locations in Topeka and Silver Lake. Led by Dr. Michel himself, our practice works to give patients the best dentistry possible. That means we offer preventive, cosmetic, and restorative treatments, all of which are tailored to your unique smile and its needs. Our team can provide everything from dental checkups and dental crowns to gum disease treatment! For more details or to book a visit, reach us on our website or by phone at either (785)-273-0801 or (785)-582-0185.