Oral Bone Density Loss

Avoiding bone density loss in the jaw from missing teeth 

Good oral health includes many aspects of dental hygiene, including taking steps to maintain healthy bones and prevent bone density loss. Brushing, flossing, and visiting the dentist at regular intervals is a good start, but as your dental care provider will tell you, many other important factors aren’t as easy to see or identify that certainly contribute to good oral health.

For example, the potential for loss of bone density is a serious issue. It can be a significant cause of oral health problems affecting the jaw, teeth, and mouth. A nutrient-rich diet and a thorough dental care routine help maintain bone density in the jaw. These healthy practices can prevent and even work to reverse the problems associated with oral bone density loss and other related dental health problems.

Why does bone density loss occur? 

Bone density loss is a problem that occurs when the body begins to break down and reabsorb bone tissue. This loss of density reduces the stability in the jaw structure and even in the teeth themselves. Signs of bone density loss include loosening and the loss of teeth.

Additionally, the risk and rate of bone density loss increase from accidental impacts or other oral trauma. The structural integrity of the mouth and jaw depends heavily on teeth. When a tooth is removed, the surrounding bone can deteriorate and weaken.

Loss of bone density can happen at any age. It is commonly linked to diseases like osteoporosis and poor diets lacking needed nutrients for healthy bone growth, as well as tooth loss. Addressing each of these can aid in preserving and maintaining healthy bones. Your dentist can help to explain how to address these factors both at home and through regular dental care. Several measures will help empower you as the patient to improve and strengthen bone density as well as overall oral health.

Preventive measures to address bone density loss 

Luckily, taking steps toward the prevention of bone density loss is something you can begin on your own at home, even starting today with simple adjustments to your dietary intake.  When it comes to what you eat, there are several ways in which diet impacts your overall oral health and can build or strengthen bone density. Maintaining a healthy level of calcium intake is perhaps one of the easiest and most obvious steps that can be taken at home. The first foods that often come to mind when thinking of a calcium-rich diet are typically dairy products, like milk, cheese, and yogurt. However, if you are lactose intolerant (or simply looking for variety), there are many other ways to enrich your calcium intake and strengthen your bones.

For example, nuts, including almonds, and seeds like sesame, poppy, and chia are calcium-rich foods that can boost your intake of this vital mineral, and are easy to incorporate into your diet. Also, certain types of fish, such as salmon and sardines, are excellent additions to your diet that are high in bone-strengthening nutrients and minerals. Other non-dairy foods that are high in calcium include things like beans, lentils and pulses, leafy greens, soy products, and even figs.

Along with increasing your calcium intake as a proactive measure against the loss of bone density, it is also imperative to ensure that your diet includes an adequate amount of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential in helping your body to absorb the calcium it needs to build and maintain strong bones. Some foods are fortified with this crucial nutrient, and although there are not as many food options that are naturally high in Vitamin D, there are some readily available choices. A diet that is high in Vitamin D may include: red meat and liver, varieties of fish like salmon and tuna, as well as egg yolks. If you have concerns about getting an adequate amount of Vitamin D to ensure proper calcium absorption for building and maintaining bone density, it is always a good idea to talk to your health care provider about potential supplements and smart choices for enriched foods. The sooner you make these dietary adjustments, the better your chances of avoiding any serious health and dental complications related to bone resorption and bone density loss.

Unfortunately, until more significant issues arise, many patients may not be aware that there is a problem with underlying bone structures in the mouth. This can make treating or reversing bone density loss more challenging. Your dental care provider is well-trained to identify the early warning signs and will advise you on steps to maintain healthy bones. Many of these steps start with following the routine advice you have probably already received at your dental cleanings.

Practicing good oral health routines like brushing with a proper fluoride toothpaste and flossing regularly can contribute to the maintenance of healthy bones and jaw structure. Similarly, ensuring that you visit your dental care provider at the recommended intervals—typically every six months on average—for your regular cleaning and dental care is a step that can be taken early enough to help prevent serious bone density loss. However, if a more serious problem does happen to develop, regular dental visits are a smart step in making sure issues are treated promptly, before bone density loss reaches an advanced state.

A loose tooth is one of the most common signs and indicators of potential bone density loss. But the loss of a tooth does not mean it’s too late. By using the right type of dental implant to replace a lost tooth, your dentist can stop further deterioration of the bone.

As your Georgian Dental care provider knows, the act of chewing and applying pressure through the teeth to the jawbone plays a significant role in maintaining bone density. Therefore, having missing teeth examined and replaced through implants can be a critical step toward building bone density and preventing further tooth loss from the deterioration of jawbone tissue. This is especially true when more than one tooth is missing, and why dental implants are an ideal solution to replace teeth and help maintain healthy bone structure in your mouth.

Even if a patient has severe bone density loss—making dental implants challenging—certain restoration options allow for the repair of underlying bone tissue. Dental bone grafting, a procedure in which bone is extracted from elsewhere in the body and transplanted to the weakest parts of the mouth, is a viable treatment option for patients suffering from severe bone density loss in the jaw. In order to facilitate the dental implant, a bone graft from the hip, rib, chin, or even a denser area of the jawbone itself is surgically applied to the weakened bone structure, thus providing a firm anchor point upon which the implant can then take hold. By forming a strong base with a bone grafting procedure and then replacing missing teeth through dental implants, it is possible to restore the affected area. This restoration will then allow for gradual re-strengthening and rebuilding of bone density in the weakened areas, helping to prevent further bone or tooth loss. It is never too late for bone density loss to be addressed by your dental professional, and it is always best to avoid delay in asking your dentist about how missing teeth can be replaced.

Take action today to prevent and reverse bone density loss 

At Georgian Dental, our team knows that concerns over tooth loss must be taken seriously, and the implications of bone density loss can be severe. We are here to help, and our team can recommend many ways through which you can begin to improve oral health both at home and through specialized dental treatment.

Taking steps to maintain healthy bones and prevent bone density loss starts at home. First, by examining diet and daily dental routines. Brushing and flossing, enjoying a nutritious diet rich in calcium and Vitamin D, as well as regular dental visits, are often correlated with better oral health and the prevention of bone density loss. If a regular visit does reveal loosening teeth, tooth loss, or another sign of deteriorating bone density, it is never too late to take steps to stop and even reverse the process.

And should you experience tooth loss, our dental care team is highly experienced in both dental implants and dental bone grafting, as may be required to prevent further bone loss and help to rebuild bone density towards your overall oral health.

If you have questions or concerns about diet, dental implants, or other issues related to your oral health, do not hesitate to talk to us here at Georgian Dental. We are happy to explain how to address factors contributing to bone density loss both at home and through regular dental care. At Georgian Dental, we are here to empower you as the patient to improve and strengthen your bone density as well as your overall oral health.