2007-Nov-15 - Why Is She Not Smiling?

Facial Collapse - Cosmetic Dentistry

The reason that this person is not smiling is because she does not have her natural teeth. She is missing every single tooth in her mouth which is causing mouth collapse. In the old days, extracting teeth was a more predictable solution as restorative materials were not as readily available as today.

The woman's lips are caved in because she does not have any facial support form her teeth. The teeth actually support both the lips and the cheeks. When the teeth are missing, the person cannot smile because the only thing you would see is fleshy gums. This will explain why many photos of the old west era contain people not smiling.

This woman looks older than what she really is as she does not have dentures (false teeth) to replace the missing teeth. Today dentures are made much better if dental implants are used to hold the denture in place and stable. This results in denture teeth that can chew and feel like natural teeth.

Today the greatest advancement for denture wearers is dental implants. Implants are surgically placed into the jaw bone and have a snap built into the denture. Instead of relying on denture cream or denture adhesive, implants will secure the denture teeth by means of a mechanical snap. It is common for denture creams to lose their grip after a few hours but dental implants and snaps would last all day. They will actually last for many years!

Today she could have had a full upper and lower denture set with dental implants to give retention. If she had enough jaw bone, she could have had a full set of teeth that stay in all the time with an implant for every tooth. She would not have had cavities but would still have to brush, floss and water pik nightly and in the morning.