Can The Jaw Denting From Wisdom Tooth Removal Be Fixed?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have jaw denting and sagging due to wisdom tooth removal. Can this be fixed? I have attached a picture of my impacted lower wisdom teeth which were removed.

A: While the picture of the x-ray is of poor quality I believe it shows the impacted state of the third molars…which would require some significant bone removal to remove these teeth. So it certainly seems plausible it could leave external indentations from the loss of bone along the jawline as well as some soft tissue sagging from the subperiosteal degloving of the overlying soft tissues.

My assumption would be that restoration would require fill of the indented bone areas with a possible jowl tuckup for the sagging.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon