What is Dental Bone Loss?
Bone loss around your teeth and in your jaw is common after losing teeth, or because of periodontal disease or gum disease. This disease happens frequently from the bacteria in plaque building up on your teeth, infecting the tissues and resulting in the support structure for the teeth to gradually disintegrate.
Bone loss can affect anyone at any age, even if you have healthy teeth. It is most common in the older population from the natural aging process.
What is Dental Bone Loss?
Dental bone loss is when the bone that supports your teeth begins to atrophy and shrink because of a gum infection and can then lead to the teeth becoming loose.
Bone loss is also the immediate result of when a tooth is lost or must be extracted, and this will lead to shrinkage of the jawbone and gums.
How Do You Know If You Might Be Dealing with Bone Loss?
If your gums are receding, swollen or bleeding, and your teeth are beginning to loosen and move, then you are suffering from gum disease and ensuing bone loss. It is imperative you see your dentist soon for an evaluation and treatment, as you run the risk of losing teeth.
Common symptoms are sagging pockets developing around the teeth, swollen or bleeding gums, gum recession, loose teeth, or constant bad breath.
If you notice any of these symptoms, contact your dentist to schedule an examination.
Common Causes of Bone Loss Around Your Teeth
A missing tooth and gum disease are the two primary causes of bone loss. Another frequent cause of bone loss around your teeth can be the result of trauma, such as an unfortunate accident, or a sport-related injury.
One of the biggest factors influencing the advancement of gum disease and bone loss is the habit of smoking. There is substantial research that has proven that smoking increases gum disease and bone loss and increases the amount of damage that is done. Smoking will also reduce the effectiveness and the results of treatment proposed by your dentist.
Poor nutrition through a poor diet, as well as the possibility of a serious medical condition, can also increase the rate of your bone loss.
How To Save Your Teeth with Further Bone Loss
There are several ways that teeth with bone loss can be saved. Regular dental exams every six months with improved periodontal therapy, combined with you exercising good preventative home oral hygiene, which is based on proper tooth brushing, flossing and interdental cleaning, will eliminate the disease altogether and even regrow some of the bone loss.
The bone loss around your teeth can be restored through regenerative bone grafting to promote bone growth, support, and to maintain healthy teeth. Bone grafting can also be performed with the jawbone after losing a tooth so a dental implant can be placed to restore the missing tooth and provide the bone with necessary stimulation.
How to Prevent Bone Loss
Prevention is a far more productive route than chasing a cure. Good, consistent at-home dental care and oral hygiene, which simply means brushing twice a day, flossing daily, a healthy diet with a healthy lifestyle, avoiding smoking and avoiding excessive alcohol consumption are all good habits that will help keep your teeth and gums healthy.