Is Dental Bone Loss Serious?
There are many reasons why your dental bones are not as healthy as they used to be but one of the most common reasons why adults suffer dental bone loss is from a missing tooth. When the tooth is no longer using the jaw bone for support, then the body no longer sends signals to the bone to regenerate and strengthen. Instead, the body uses the lack of pressure and stimulation as a reason to use the minerals and resources in the jaw bone in other parts of the body.
Research on bone loss and missing teeth shows that on average an adult will suffer a 25% bone loss within just the first year after not replacing a missing tooth. So if you have lost a tooth to an accident or gum disease and it isn’t one of your front teeth, you may not be motivated to seek dental treatment quickly. You may find that you forget it is even missing, but it will become more and more obvious the longer you neglect it.
What causes bone loss?
There are five major reasons why you may be experiencing dental bone loss and the important ways they can be impacting your overall health.
1. Gum Disease
What starts as bacteria along the teeth near the gum line can progress to prolonged inflammation of the gums and loose teeth. Gum disease can be stopped and reversed when it is treated in its early stages of gingivitis through professional dental treatment. If it is not addressed, it can worsen to periodontitis and cause serious damage including tooth loss.
You can start prevention of gum disease by brushing twice a day and flossing carefully to remove plaque before it has a chance to cause damage to your teeth and gums. Gum disease may start by leaving you with one missing tooth but it may leave you with multiple missing teeth and dental bone loss.
2. Dentures or Dental Bridges
When the dentist molds dentures to your mouth, the dentist will need to rely on our current bone structure to hold your lower jaw dentures in place. Neither upper nor lower dentures offer any bone stimulation, so the longer you have dentures, the more bone loss you will suffer.
In the same way, if you have a dental bridge that relies on replacing a missing tooth with a crown that sits on top of the gums and is held in place by attachments to the teeth on either side, the crown is not adding pressure to the bone.
The dentist may be able to replace your traditional dentures or dental bridge with dental implants to provide that stimulation the dental bones need to stay healthy.
3. Tooth Extractions
The jaw bone retains its strength through the pressure from teeth on it while chewing, biting, and other related activities. If the tooth is extracted and not replaced, the bone will suffer deterioration.
4. Trauma or Accidents
Even if you have a mouth guard you wear during physical activities to protect your teeth, you may still have a car accident that knocks one of your teeth out or causes damage to your jaw bone.
5. Malaligned Teeth
The pressure between two teeth when you are biting or chewing allows the jaw bone to stay stimulated and strong. If your teeth are misaligned, then they may not be providing the counter pressure for their opposing teeth to keep the bones strong.