If you have lost jawbone structure due to untreated tooth loss, this could complicate your ability to receive dental implants. However, our team could rebuild the weakened portions with jawbone grafting. In today’s blog, your Encinitas, CA, periodontist talks about using lasers to ensure quality ridge augmentation.
The Impact of Tooth Loss
First, let’s talk about how your missing teeth could lead to weakened jawbone structure. When we lose our teeth, the body will take notice and in response, often suspend or divert the flow of calcium and phosphates to the jawbone around the lost root. Without them, the smile loses mass and density, weakening to cause further tooth loss and in many cases, develop an aged appearance. While dental implants can halt this and stimulate the growth of bone tissue, you need to first have enough tissues to support these new teeth. To rebuild what has been lost, our team could offer a ridge augmentation.
Jawbone Grafting
To begin, our team will first conduct a detailed and thorough examination of your smile, so we can understand the extent of your tooth loss and the severity of your lost mass and density. From there, we can decide if jawbone grafting is the best course forward. If so, we will employ tissue taken from your jaw or hip, or from a donor or synthetic source. The new tissue is attached to the weakened portions, and bonds with the bone tissue, fortifying your smile and improving your periodontal health too. To modify the jawbone structure to accept these new tissues and rebuild the smile, we can use dental lasers. They can target the areas we need to alter with precision and accuracy, and prevent damage to healthy tissues too. There is little risk of swelling, bleeding, or infection, and the area will heal quickly. This helps make the process of preparing your smile and applying the new tissues to be a comfortable and minimally invasive option.
Laser Dentistry
Our team often uses dental lasers to aid in not just grafting, but with the process of dental implant placement or to address more severe cases of periodontal disease, such as periodontitis, so you can preserve your smile and avoid tooth loss. The precision of the technology means our lasers often need no anesthesia, and that people can return to normal activities after only a day or two of rest. Of course, the exact time frame depends on the extent of your treatment.
Talk To Your Encinitas/San Diego, CA Periodontist About Treatment Options
Our team wants to help rebuild your smile and leave it ready for dental implant placement. If you would like to find out more about our advanced treatment options, then please call Dr. Kania’s laser periodontal office in Encinitas/San Diego, CA, at (760) 642-0711.