How can a dental implant help to prevent bone loss?
Dental implants San Diego
For most people who are missing one or more teeth, dental implants are the preferred treatment. Many people are attracted to them because they’re very secure, allowing the patient to speak and eat without worrying about a slipped denture or bridge. Others prefer them for their aesthetic benefits, as they’re generally the most natural-looking tooth replacement option.
However, many people don’t realize that there’s another very significant benefit to dental implants. Dental implants can help to minimize bone loss. How is this possible? What are the benefits of maintaining bone tissue?
How is bone tissue lost after tooth loss?
Although we often think of bone tissue as solid and permanent, the truth is that it is always changing. The body adds extra bone tissue where needed, and reabsorbs any bone tissue that isn’t needed. What determines whether bone tissue is deposited, maintained, or reabsorbed in a particular area is the amount of force transmitted through the bone.
Normally, the root of a tooth transmits the forces of chewing into the jaw bone. This provides the needed stimulus for the body to maintain the bone tissue. When a tooth is lost, then these forces are no longer transmitted into the bone. Because of this lack of force, the body will start to reabsorb the bone tissue from the area around the missing tooth. This can affect the teeth around it, causing them to “fall” towards the empty tooth socket. It can even affect the overall appearance of the face, causing it to appear “sunken,” especially if multiple teeth are missing.
How can dental implants help?
A dental implant is a titanium post inserted into the jaw bone. Attached to the top of the dental implant is a replacement tooth (a crown, bridge, or denture). Because it’s placed into the bone itself, the implant acts much like the root of a natural tooth would. It is able to transmit the forces of chewing into the bone, which provides the needed stimulus to keep the bone tissue strong. In this way, dental implants protect the tissue of the jaw bone from being lost.
In some cases, it’s possible to place a dental implant at the same time as the tooth is extracted, or soon afterwards. This will prevent the reabsorption of bone tissue from occurring. In other cases, there may be a period of time between when the tooth is lost and when the implant is placed. If this happens, then bone tissue may already have been lost from the tooth socket before the implant placement. Sometimes, an additional procedure may be needed to strengthen the bone in the area before placing the implant.
Dental implants San Diego
If you’ve been considering dental implants, then we invite you to make an appointment with Dr. Carpenter. As a certified prosthodontist (which is the specialty of dentistry that deals with the replacement of missing teeth), he’s extremely well-qualified in this area. To learn more about dental implants and to find out whether you’d be a candidate, so that you can decide whether implants would be right for you, please contact our office to schedule a consultation appointment.