When you have missing teeth you may find that you become self-conscious about your smile but did you know that those missing teeth can also have a serious effect on your health? Here, our dentists in Delta talk about how bone loss occurs and the ways that dental implants can help to prevent bone loss due to missing teeth and even reverse it.
If you are missing teeth you may automatically see it as an aesthetic concern but did you know that it can also have a detrimental effect on your oral health? Thankfully there are tooth replacement options such as dental implants which can be combined with bone grafting to help restore your smile. If you are missing teeth then you should speak with your dentist about dental implants sooner rather than later as your jaw will continue to break down as time goes on.
The Effect of Missing Teeth on Your Jaw
If you need a tooth removed for any reason your dentist will then likely recommend a tooth replacement option. This is to help prevent the bone from beginning to deteriorate. Similar to other bones in the body, your jawbone contains living tissue with cells that are created. Like all others in your body, these cells grow until they wear out, at which point your body will replace them with new cells. Once this has happened, the process will start all over again.
The normal process of eating and chewing plays a critical role in this growth cycle; as we chew, the force travels through our tooth roots to stimulate bone growth in the jaw. Unfortunately, when you are missing teeth it means that those areas do not receive any force and by extension no stimulation. This can result in a slowing of the cell production cycle for that part of your jaw.
This slowing of the cell production process is what eventually leads to bone loss and the effects don't just end there. This bone loss can affect the density of the jaw bone, making it weaker and more susceptible to fractures.
Can dental implants help to reverse bone loss?
Our dentist at Surdel Dental Centre in Delta offers dental implants as an option to help restore the function of your teeth. A small titanium post will be implanted in your jaw to replace the root of your missing tooth, and later be capped with a tooth replacement such as a crown or bridge. As it heals, new bone cells will grow around it and adhere to its surface. This new cell growth will help to increase the density of your jaw making it stronger.
What happens if I need a bone grafting procedure with my implant?
Your dentist may recommend a bone grafting procedure before your dental implant to kickstart cell production which can help create a more stable base for your new implant.
Depending on your circumstances, a bone grafting procedure may be critical to giving you enough bone density for the dental implant to fuse correctly inside the jaw. After the bone graft has healed, dental implants are placed and osseointegration occurs to allow the titanium implant to connect with the jaw.
If you have missing teeth then you must look into tooth replacement options as soon as possible to prevent further complications. Speak with your dentist if you have any questions about the bone grafting procedure and would like to know if it might be an option for you.