What Causes Bone Loss?
Bone loss is a frequent occurrence from the loss of a tooth or chronic gum disease. With gum disease, the infection gradually damages the underlying jawbone and the supporting periodontal ligaments that connect each tooth to the jawbone.
The primary cause of bone loss is the loss of a tooth and not replacing it. The jawbone is stimulated and preserved through the continuous pressures of biting and chewing delivered through the tooth roots. When this stimulation is removed, the bone begins to atrophy and reabsorb into the body. In the first year after a tooth extraction the bone loses 25% in that immediate area.
What is Bone Loss
This bone loss occurs in the bone area surrounding and supporting the tooth, called the alveolar bone. This alveolar bone forms the ridges where the tooth roots are embedded. These ridges will begin to atrophy vertically and horizontally.
Replacing any missing teeth with full or partial dentures does not resolve the stimulation problem because the dentures rest on your gums and exert only a small amount of chewing pressure to the bone in comparison to your natural teeth.
The loss of molars in your upper jaw will cause additional resorption of the bone because of the expansion of the sinus cavity. With a tooth missing, the air pressure in the sinus cavity will cause and accelerate the resorption of the bone lining the sinus cavity.
Additional Causes of Bone Loss
Bone loss can also be caused by misaligned teeth, where a situation develops and the normal chewing pressures subside, resulting in the loss of the needed stimulus to the bone.
Bone loss can also be the result of an infection that damages the bone.
A tumor or cyst requiring removal can also result in the loss of bone.
Bone Loss and Traditional Dentures
Traditional dentures can accelerate bone loss by wearing down the ridges they are resting on. Every time you bite down you are putting pressure on these ridges, resulting in more reabsorption. This is a primary reason to get your dentures to fit properly and eliminate sore spots and uncomfortable chewing.
If you wear traditional dentures you can experience another result of bone loss, which is the sagging of the lower third of your face.
The atrophy of your ridge bone will eventually bring your chin closer to your nose, resulting in your jaw protruding out and your nose will seem to stick out further from your upper lip puckering in. Wrinkles will appear around your mouth and your cheeks will develop sagging skin. This change of your face will add years to your age.
Preventing Bone Loss
Bone loss can be prevented by providing your jawbone the stimulation it needs with a restoration with an artificial root that will exert the same pressure as a natural tooth. This should be done soon after the loss of a tooth by replacing the natural tooth with a dental implant, or by using a denture or bridge which is implant supported. A bone graft can help if there is not enough bone to support the implant.
A dental implant or a bridge supported by an implant will provide 99% chewing power of your natural bite force. A denture that is secured with dental implants, will provide around 75% of normal biting force and will help in preventing unwanted bone loss.