If you’re dealing with missing teeth, aesthetics might not be the only reason to get a prosthetic replacement like a dental implant.
A missing tooth can actually affect the health of your jawbone. Without a permanent tooth to help stimulate it, jaw bone mass is lost.
Keep reading to understand how a dental implant can help restore your jaw bone health.
Natural teeth are made up of a crown and a root. When it comes to jaw bone health, it’s the root that actually plays a critical role.
Every time you chew your food, you’re placing pressure on the tooth and root, which helps stimulate the area. This stimulation sends a signal to the body, telling it that bone mass is needed there, not to mention that it helps bring blood (full of nutrients) to the area.
When the permanent tooth is missing, and therefore the area of the jaw is not stimulated anymore, the body can begin a process called “bone resorption”. During it, the body essentially takes bone mass from the area and redistributes it to other areas of the jaw, where roots are present.
As a result, the jaw area where the root is missing loses its mass, eventually leading to changes in your facial shape and even threatening your nearby permanent teeth.
Dental implants aren’t just designed to look like a natural tooth - they act like one as well. Implants are made of 3 elements:
The metal post is essentially the artificial root. When it is inserted in the jaw, and the abutment and crown are added on top, it can stimulate the area just like a natural tooth root would, effectively supporting long-term jawbone health.
Bone resorption can happen around 6 months after you’ve lost a permanent tooth. If you’ve been missing a tooth for a long time, there is a real possibility of having too little bone left for an implant to be inserted.
In these cases, patients will require a bone grafting procedure. It involves taking a little piece of bone from a donor or another part of the body and adding it to the jawbone in order to restore its mass.
Once the jaw is healed, you can move on to get your dental implant surgery.
You don’t have to deal with missing teeth any longer. Dr. Carly Cassleman is happy to help you restore your oral health with dental implants, effectively giving you back your winning smile.
To learn whether this procedure is right for you, book a consultation at St. Clair Tooth Co. online.
For more information about our services, please give us a call at (586) 404-4911 today.
.png){kind=icon}
.png)