How You Can Lose Your Jawbone Without Even Realizing It
Your oral health isn't limited to what can be seen in your oral cavity (which is another name for your mouth). Ongoing and untreated tooth decay will ultimately corrode the tooth so much that it must be extracted. Additionally, the bacterial contaminants affecting your teeth will attack your gums—before going deeper. One of the outcomes of untreated dental complaints is that you'll begin to lose bone.
Bone Mass
Loss of bone mass in the jaw is a consequence of ignoring the need for dental treatment. It's not as though sections of bone detach before being absorbed into your bloodstream. It's more that the height, width, and general mass of the bone will progressively decrease—over the course of many years. It can go unnoticed until the deterioration of the jaw is well underway. This is catastrophic to your dental health and general sense of well-being, as well as your physical appearance.
Pronounced Changes
The proportions and general outline of a person's face change naturally over the years, but these changes can be far more pronounced when there's a loss of bone density in the jaw. The lower part of the face may become compressed, and even distorted. The simplest fix is to restore that bone density.
Secure Foundation
The first stage of restorative dentistry can be to build a secure foundation for the forthcoming work. This secure foundation must be a jawbone with enough density to support whatever tooth replacement option (or options) is most appropriate in your case. How can a dentist reverse the loss of bone?
Bone Grafting
Bone grafting sounds more elaborate than it is. It's a minor form of oral surgery and involves your dentist manually grafting bone tissue onto the deficient bone crests in your jaw. Only a fractional amount of bone tissue is needed. Synthetic grafting material (with a comparable mineral composition to human bone) is becoming common. The other alternatives are bone tissue being harvested from your own body (generally your upper dental arch), or from a human donor. And synthetic material is easier to source and work with.
Bone Integration
The grafting takes place during your primary surgical procedure. Integration between your existing bone tissues and the grafting material then takes place during the healing process. Depending on the next stage of your treatment, it may take several months of recuperation before your dentist can proceed. For example, you may need dental implants to replace missing teeth. These are small titanium posts inserted into your jaw and fitted with a natural-looking porcelain tooth—but can only be placed in healthy bone.
Whether your deficient teeth are replaced with dental implants, a dental bridge, or even dentures—you might need to have your jawbone reinforced with grafting material before these dental restorations are possible.
Contact a restorative dentistry clinic to learn more.
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