Published: 01/31/2016
As your dentist in Thousand Oaks, CA will tell you, millions of American adults suffer tooth loss every year. While the reasons behind yours and their tooth loss may vary, the result is the same: unsightly gaps in your dental arches that cause you to be less inclined to share a smile with the world. Yet missing teeth can do more than just rob you of your self-confidence; they can also permanently alter the appearance of your face through bone loss.
The Dangers of Not Addressing Tooth Loss
Far too many people believe that missing teeth are something that they simply have to live with. What they do not realize is that by allowing missing teeth to go untreated, they are also allowing for the deterioration of their jaw bone. Without any overlying structures to support, a process known as facial collapse can begin to take hold. The stages of this condition progress as follows:
•Initial tooth loss: Once you experience your initial loss of teeth, your body is tricked into thinking that the bone supporting them is no longer needed. Thus, it begins the process of resorbing the minerals in the bone to be used elsewhere in the body.
•First three to four weeks: Once bone resorption begins, the rapid period of deterioration happens during the first three to four weeks following tooth loss. During this time, you can lose up to 40 percent of the bone density.
•The next 10 to 20 years: After the initial period of rapid bone loss, resorption slows yet continues over time. At some point, total atrophy may be reached. Even before reaching atrophy, however, your ability to use traditional dentures or dental bridges becomes compromised because of lack of jaw bone.
•The good news is that even after the initial stage of bone resorption has begun, its effects can be reversed through receiving proper treatment from your dentist in Thousand Oaks, CA. Affixing dental implants to the bone can actually promote the growth of new, healthy bone, helping restore you to good dental health.
Even if you are already missing teeth, facial collapse is by no means an inevitability that you must face. Dr. Jacqueline Subka is prepared to help you through a number of different treatment options. We can get you back to enjoying all of the benefits of a beautiful, healthy smile. To schedule an appointment to go over the many treatments that we offer, simply give us a call at 805-433-9575.
As your dentist in Thousand Oaks, CA will tell you, millions of American adults suffer tooth loss every year. While the reasons behind yours and their tooth loss may vary, the result is the same: unsightly gaps in your dental arches that cause you to be less inclined to share a smile with the world. Yet missing teeth can do more than just rob you of your self-confidence; they can also permanently alter the appearance of your face through bone loss.
The Dangers of Not Addressing Tooth Loss
Far too many people believe that missing teeth are something that they simply have to live with. What they do not realize is that by allowing missing teeth to go untreated, they are also allowing for the deterioration of their jaw bone. Without any overlying structures to support, a process known as facial collapse can begin to take hold. The stages of this condition progress as follows:
•Initial tooth loss: Once you experience your initial loss of teeth, your body is tricked into thinking that the bone supporting them is no longer needed. Thus, it begins the process of resorbing the minerals in the bone to be used elsewhere in the body.
•First three to four weeks: Once bone resorption begins, the rapid period of deterioration happens during the first three to four weeks following tooth loss. During this time, you can lose up to 40 percent of the bone density.
•The next 10 to 20 years: After the initial period of rapid bone loss, resorption slows yet continues over time. At some point, total atrophy may be reached. Even before reaching atrophy, however, your ability to use traditional dentures or dental bridges becomes compromised because of lack of jaw bone.
•The good news is that even after the initial stage of bone resorption has begun, its effects can be reversed through receiving proper treatment from your dentist in Thousand Oaks, CA. Affixing dental implants to the bone can actually promote the growth of new, healthy bone, helping restore you to good dental health.
Even if you are already missing teeth, facial collapse is by no means an inevitability that you must face. Dr. Jacqueline Subka is prepared to help you through a number of different treatment options. We can get you back to enjoying all of the benefits of a beautiful, healthy smile. To schedule an appointment to go over the many treatments that we offer, simply give us a call at 805-433-9575.
