The reason dental implants are able to work and feel just like natural teeth is because they are fused to your jawbone, just like your real teeth. In order to gain results that are this good, it is naturally important that your jawbone be strong and healthy. If your jawbone has begun to deteriorate, it is possible that it may not be able to provide the foundation needed to support dental implants. Today, Dr. Donian Shen is blogging from Mountain View, CA to talk about jawbone deterioration, its cosmetic effects, and what can be done to reverse it.
Protect Your Jawbone With Dental Implants
What many people don’t realize is that their jawbone is just like a muscle in the way that it must be constantly exercised in order to stay healthy and strong. This exercise comes from vibrations caused by the impact of food on your teeth. These vibrations travel down your tooth root and into your jawbone, providing the exercise it needs. When you lose a tooth, you are also losing a vital source of this much needed exercise. When that happens, the part of the jawbone the missing teeth formerly occupied will begin to weaken and deteriorate, and can even shrink.
There are many possible cosmetic problems that can arise because of a missing tooth and jawbone deterioration. For instance, your jawbone and teeth work to shape and support your facial structure. When you lose a tooth, you are losing a vital facial support structure, and your face can take on a “sunken appearance”. This tends to make your cheek bones and jawline look hollow and even sickly. It is also common for your skin to wrinkle around your jawline, which tends to make you appear older and less healthy.
Jawbone deterioration doesn’t necessarily disqualify you from treatment with dental implants. Luckily, bone grafting can be performed. For this procedure, bone is taken from another part of your body, usually your hip bone, and grafted to the deficient areas of your jawbone. If you are uncomfortable using your own bone, we can also use synthetic or highly sterilized animal bone. With bone grafting, we are able to restore your jawbone back to a point where it can provide the foundation your dental implants need to work properly.
Call and Schedule a Consultation at Smile By Design
Because of the many detrimental effects that can come from jawbone deterioration, we highly recommend our patients suffering from missing teeth pursue treatment with dental implants as soon as possible. By doing so, they can restore their missing teeth before their jawbone deteriorates to the point where they will need bone grafting to move forward with their dental implant treatment. If you would like to learn more about the benefits of dental implants or bone grafting, we encourage you to contact us and schedule a no-obligation consultation with Dr. Donian Shen today.
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