Dental Implants are the ONLY tooth replacement option that preserves and stimulates bone levels.
Bone needs stimulation to maintain its form and density. Teeth naturally stimulate bone. Teeth do this by transferring chewing forces to the bone. This force stimulates the bone and keeps bone healthy. When a tooth is lost there is no longer transmission of chewing forces to the bone. Therefore, the bone that once supported that tooth immediately starts to disappear. Within the first year of a tooth being lost there is a thirty percent decrease in the width of the bone and a four millimeter loss of bone height. This bone loss continues throughout life.
Old fashioned dentures accelerate bone loss.
There is bone loss after the removal of the teeth. There is no stimulation of bone once the teeth are removed. The bone deteriorates and continues deteriorating throughout life. The only way to halt the loss of bone is with the use of dental implants. Dental implants are placed in the jawbone where they mimic natural teeth in form and function. Dental implants transmit chewing forces to the bone and stimulate and preserve bone levels. The most obvious negative aspect is the tremendous loss of bone. However, there are numerous other cosmetic and functional problems associated with complete tooth loss.
The cosmetic negative consequences of bone loss include:
- A decrease in facial height.
- Collapse of the lower lip and the chin.
- Increased wrinkles.
- A rotation of the chin to a greater forward position.
- A decrease in the horizontal angle of the lip that makes patient look unhappy.
- A loss of muscle tone in the facial muscles.
- The vermillion border of the lip thins due to loss of muscle tone.
- Creation of an “old smile”. The length of the upper lip increases so that fewer teeth show when smiling. This hides the teeth and ages the smile.
Once the bone is gone it is very difficult to get back.
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