In addition to affecting your appearance, tooth loss can also cause issues with your overall oral health — particularly your jawbone. In fact, when you are missing teeth, your jawbone isn’t getting proper stimulation, which causes it to lose its density, sometimes causing your face to sink inwards. Moreover, this loss of density can also prevent oral health professionals from placing implants, creating a frustrating cycle where you cannot fill in the gaps, leading to even more damage to your jaw. Luckily, even when your bone is severely damaged, there are solutions for achieving a healthy smile once again. In today’s blog, your Dallas, TX, dentist discusses bone grafts and sinus lifts — solutions that can rebuild your smile.
Bone Grafting
Bone grafting, also known as ridge augmentation, can help fortify damaged portions of your lower jaw. This procedure is executed by your oral healthcare specialist taking healthy tissue from other parts of your body — often your jaw or hip — and grafting it to the affected area of your mouth. Additionally, they can use tissue from donors or even craft it synthetically! Once there is a healthy sample, your doctor bonds the tissue to your jawbone and, over time, the new tissue and your jaw fise together, creating a stronger, more fortified jaw.
Sinus Lift
Sinus lifts frequently work in conjunction with bone grafting and addresses issues on the upper arch of your mouth. For this, your doctor raises the floor of the sinus to uncover additional, less damaged bone tissue that can better accommodate implants. Between both procedures, your mouth will become strong enough to securely maintain implants, providing you with a complete and healthy smile once again.
Implant Options
Once your jaw is healthy, it is important to receive implants as soon as possible, so it does not deteriorate again. In some cases, traditional prosthetics like removable dentures and bridges can suffice, but again, these do not always stimulate the jaw. On the other hand, implants mimic the roots of your teeth, going into your gumline and attaching to bone. When this happens, jaw density is maintained. Of course, your smile will also look more complete. There are several implant options available, and your doctor will work with you to choose the best one for your unique needs. Some of these include removable implant dentures, fixed implant bridges, overdentures, implant-supported fixed hybrid dentures, and more. These options can accommodate a variety of needs, so you can rest assured knowing that your specific situation will be addressed and that you will regain a healthy smile!
Contact Us For More Information
If you have questions about bone grafts, sinus lifts, and implants, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can call SILK Dental Wellness in Dallas, TX today at 214-969-7455, or use our online request system.
