The reason for why dental implants are capable of offering such great results is because, much like your natural teeth, dental implants are directly fused to your jawbone. Through a process called osseointegration, your dental implants are accepted by your body as a natural piece of your oral anatomy. Naturally, for results this good it is important that your jawbone be strong enough to support your implants. This can be difficult because your jawbone actually begins to deteriorate once you lose a tooth. Today, Dr. Jeffrey Hoos is blogging from Stratford, CT to talk about jawbone deterioration, its effects, and what can be done to reverse the damage done by it.
Defend Your Jawbone with Dental Implants
The one thing about the jawbone that many people don’t know is that it is much like a muscle in the way that it requires constant exercise in order to stay strong and healthy. This exercise usually comes from vibrations your teeth produce when you talk or eat. These vibrations travel down the roots of your teeth and into your jawbone. When you lose a tooth, the area of the jawbone that tooth was attached to is no longer getting the exercise it needs and it will begin to deteriorate at a result.
Jawbone deterioration affects more than just your ability to get dental implants. In fact, it has a large impact on your overall facial structure. This is because our teeth and jawbone work to support our faces and, when you lose a tooth and your jawbone deteriorates, you are losing the support your face needs to maintain itself. This can lead to hollow cheeks, giving the patient a “sunken appearance”. It is also common for the skin around the jawline to wrinkle. People suffering from jawbone deterioration tend to be described as appearing aged or unhealthy.
If you are suffering from jawbone deterioration, it may still be possible for you to move forward with treatment using dental implants. By performing bone grafting, we may be capable of restoring your jawbone back to a point where it can support dental implants. Bone grafting is a procedure that takes bone samples from another part of your body, usually your hipbone, and grafts them to the deficient areas of your jawbone. If you are uncomfortable using samples taken from your own body, then we can use synthetic or heavily sterilized animal bone for your procedure instead.
Call and Schedule a Consultation at Brush & Floss Dental Center
It is for the reasons talked about above that we recommend our patients pursue treatment with dental implants as soon as possible after losing a tooth. By beginning your treatment quickly, you will most likely not need to deal with bone grafting before moving forward with your implant treatment. If you would like to learn more about dental implants or bone grafting, we encourage you to contact us and schedule a no-obligation consultation with dental implant provider, Dr. Jeffrey Hoos, today. We look forward to working with you soon!