Ongoing infections in your gums will gradually destroy the natural support of your teeth. There are different types of this disease that affect different parts of your mouth, but it all starts with a buildup of dental plaque (a sticky, colorless film, composed of food particles and bacteria). This irritates your gums and eventually turns into tartar (a rough, porous substance) that affects the area under your gum line. The result is deterioration in your jawbone if left untreated and allowed to progress far enough.
Unfortunately, when you have dentures, they don’t directly stimulate your jawbone since they’re placed on top of your gum line. This also results in problems with you being able to eat and speak correctly. Left long enough, your dentures won’t be able to be held in place at all.
In a similar way to dentures, your bridges can also cause jaw bone loss. This is because they don’t provide enough stimulation for your bone.
When you have a tooth knocked out of your mouth, you no longer have a biting surface left beneath your gumline, so your jaw bone is no longer being stimulated here. It doesn’t matter if you have an injury, accident, jaw fracture, or another type of trauma, it will affect your jaw bone in this way.
Developmental Deformities or Misalignment
Birth defects can cause you to be born without a part of your jaw bone. At other times, your child’s tooth may over-erupt as they’re growing. This can result in issues such as TMJ, which, when left untreated interferes with their ability to chew their food properly. Over time their jaw bone will deteriorate because it isn’t being properly stimulated.
One of the most common treatment procedures is a bone graft to restore function to this area of your mouth by promoting new bone growth there.
Are you suffering from jawbone loss? Give us a call at (503) 647-4565. We are happy to help you learn more about your smile!
