Oral Health: Don't Ignore Your GumsOral Health: Don't Ignore Your Gums

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Oral Health: Don't Ignore Your Gums

When you go to your dentist, you are likely concerned about cavities and the stains on your teeth. If you are like me, then you probably never thought much about your gums. Unfortunately, this caused me to form a serious gum recession condition. My dentist said that hard brushing practices, poor flossing techniques, and even the consumption of sugary foods led to the recession. After some deep scaling treatments, I was informed that I needed a gum graft procedure. The gums are extremely important to your health. They provide your teeth with the nutrients they need and they protect the sensitive dental roots. The gums even keep bacteria away from your jaw bone. Don't ignore your gums like I did. Read my blog and learn about proper oral care techniques. Prevention practices can easily save your gums from necessary restoration.

Have Low Bone Density? Know How It Can Affect Your Dental Implants

25 March 2016
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

It is fairly common to lose a tooth, with 178 million people in the US missing one or more teeth, and 35 million missing all their teeth. Thankfully, dentists have come up with a way to replace missing teeth using an implant. Unfortunately, it's possible that you have low bone density, which can affect your dental implant. Here is everything you should know about how this health condition can affect your dental procedure to replace your missing teeth.

What Is A Dental Implant

Dental implants are way to restore missing teeth by inserting a titanium post into your jaw bone. The jaw bone will form a bond with the post, making it a permanent fixture of your mouth. It acts as a great support for that fake tooth that will take its place, while also stimulating the jaw bone to prevent deterioration. Dentists considers this procedure a great way to permanently replace a missing tooth due to how close implants function and resemble natural teeth.

What Is Low Bone Density

The technical name for low bone density is osteoporosis, and it's a health complication that affects 10 million Americans. Those that have the health complication will lose their bone mass at a faster rate than how fast their bodies make it. It leaves bones weak and porous. People who suffer from low bone density are at a higher risk of getting a bone fracture in their spine or hip, but it can affect many other bones in the body.

How Are Implants and Low Bone Density Related?

Since a dental implant is inserted into the jaw bone, your jaw bone's strength and size play an important role. Your dental implant needs a minimum of 1mm of surrounding tissue in the jaw bone for it to work, and a no less than 3mm of tissue when multiple implants are next to each other.

An x-ray will be taken to ensure that your jaw bone meets these specifications for a successful surgery. If low bone density has caused your jaw bone to not have the necessary surrounding tissue, you always have a bone graft performed.

Can Dental Implants Be Successfully Installed With Low Bone Density?

If you have sufficient tissue, the surgical procedure should go smoothly. When comparing dental implant failures to patients with and without low bone density in their jaw, the rate of failure for both is around 11%. That's why it's so important to get evaluated by your doctor prior to having this procedure done.