The fact that everyone’s smile is unique can have greater implications than you might realize at first. Not only does it mean that your smile looks like no one else’s, it also means that the oral health concerns you experience and the appropriate methods of addressing them can also be unique to your specific oral health status. For example, when it comes to rebuilding your smile after losing one or more teeth, many people require more than just a custom replacement for the teeth. They may also need one or more treatments to restore their smile’s supportive structures, such as jawbone grafting, in order to support their lifelike tooth replacement.
Why it could be a necessary measure
Jawbone grafting isn’t always a necessary part of smile restoration following tooth loss. However, the process that leads to the need for it is a natural one, and involves the reaction within your jawbone structure after one or more teeth are uprooted from it. The roots of your teeth are the only source of stimulation your jawbone can rely on, and this stimulation is how your jawbone receives an adequate supply of minerals and nutrients. It needs these nutrients to support itself as well as nourish your teeth, so when a root is lost, your body responds by sending it fewer of them.
What it can improve about your oral health
Over time, the loss of minerals and nutrients in your jawbone can cause it to experience a loss of mass and density significant enough to impact its overall strength and integrity. Jawbone grafting is the process of restoring some or all of this mass and density by attaching, or grafting, a small amount of donor bone material to the weak area of the bone structure. For patients who’ve experienced substantial jawbone erosion, grafting might be a vital prerequisite to replacing their lost tooth or teeth with dental implants. For the dental implant posts to successfully replace your lost teeth roots, the surrounding jawbone structure must be strong and healthy enough to support them.
Why you shouldn’t wait much longer
Your jawbone’s reaction to the loss of one or more teeth roots is immediate. The moment the tooth is lost, your body will respond by modifying the minerals and nutrients it sends to your dental ridge. If the condition has reached the point that you require jawbone grafting to rectify it, then the loss may affect more than just your qualifications for dental implant placement. The continued weakening of your jawbone structure may also raise your risks of losing more teeth and requiring more extensive treatment to rebuild and restore your smile.
Learn more about the need for jawbone grafting
If you need jawbone grafting, there are several things you should know about its importance to your oral health, and why you shouldn’t put it off. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling Santa Rosa Oral Surgery in Santa Rosa, CA, today at 707-545-4625.