Diagnosing Bone Loss
In order to be a candidate for dental implants, you have to have a healthy jaw bone. When bone loss has occurred, its nature and degree of severity must first be determined and corrected before any attempts at implantation are made.
Diagnosing the health of your jawbone is an important step in planning for stable, secure implants and maintaining a beautiful smile.
Causes of bone loss
Bone in the jaw can be lost for a number of reasons.
Periodontal disease destroys the jawbone around the affected teeth. Many people are not aware that something that affects gum tissue can also cause bone loss. The reason for this is bone is living tissue like everything else in the body. Although its calcium content is much higher, bone is made of cells, is nourished by blood, and is tied to the brain’s neural network. Infections can happen in bone just like every other part of the body as a result.
Development of a cyst or abscess creates a hole in the jawbone. This is very serious; because bone loss will occur at even more rapid rate once a hole is form. Also, the risk of disease is also further increased.
Removal or accidental loss of teeth sometimes can cause bone loss. A bone graft may be necessary to restore the integrity of the jaw if this occurs.
Missing teeth do not stimulate the jawbone through chewing, causing the jawbone to shrink. The jawbone needs teeth to stimulate it. Every time you bite down on food, the roots of your teeth send vibrations into the jaw, which the nerve endings sense, and which in turn stimulate the jaw to vitality and regeneration. However, once tooth roots are lost, bone loss always occurs—100 percent of the time—when the vibrations it the jaw is used to cease to be transmitted.
Diagnosis and treatment
Medical history is the first thing we look at. We need to know if you have diabetes or a history of gum disease. We also need to know if you smoke, because this can interfere with the healing process essential to dental implantation. We also want to perform a standard oral cancer exam regardless of whether or not you have ever smoked or used smokeless tobacco.
To check your jaw itself, we take x-rays and sometimes a CT scan to see how much bone injury and bone loss you have suffered. This allows us to actually study the nerves and blood vessels in your jaw and make a precise diagnosis of its health.
When we perform a visual exam to look at the shape of the jawbone, we will periodontal probe to check the height of bone around any neighboring teeth. Sometimes, we may also find defects in the jawbone while we are performing implant surgery. If necessary, a bone graft may be performed to reverse bone loss (if possible) and improve your chances of successful dental implant surgery.
Diagnosing the health of your jawbone is an important step in planning for stable, secure implants and maintaining a beautiful smile.
Causes of bone loss
Bone in the jaw can be lost for a number of reasons.
Periodontal disease destroys the jawbone around the affected teeth. Many people are not aware that something that affects gum tissue can also cause bone loss. The reason for this is bone is living tissue like everything else in the body. Although its calcium content is much higher, bone is made of cells, is nourished by blood, and is tied to the brain’s neural network. Infections can happen in bone just like every other part of the body as a result.
Development of a cyst or abscess creates a hole in the jawbone. This is very serious; because bone loss will occur at even more rapid rate once a hole is form. Also, the risk of disease is also further increased.
Removal or accidental loss of teeth sometimes can cause bone loss. A bone graft may be necessary to restore the integrity of the jaw if this occurs.
Missing teeth do not stimulate the jawbone through chewing, causing the jawbone to shrink. The jawbone needs teeth to stimulate it. Every time you bite down on food, the roots of your teeth send vibrations into the jaw, which the nerve endings sense, and which in turn stimulate the jaw to vitality and regeneration. However, once tooth roots are lost, bone loss always occurs—100 percent of the time—when the vibrations it the jaw is used to cease to be transmitted.
Diagnosis and treatment
Medical history is the first thing we look at. We need to know if you have diabetes or a history of gum disease. We also need to know if you smoke, because this can interfere with the healing process essential to dental implantation. We also want to perform a standard oral cancer exam regardless of whether or not you have ever smoked or used smokeless tobacco.
To check your jaw itself, we take x-rays and sometimes a CT scan to see how much bone injury and bone loss you have suffered. This allows us to actually study the nerves and blood vessels in your jaw and make a precise diagnosis of its health.
When we perform a visual exam to look at the shape of the jawbone, we will periodontal probe to check the height of bone around any neighboring teeth. Sometimes, we may also find defects in the jawbone while we are performing implant surgery. If necessary, a bone graft may be performed to reverse bone loss (if possible) and improve your chances of successful dental implant surgery.
Labels: causes of bone loss, correcting bone loss, dental implantation success
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