When you lose one or more of your teeth, the jawbone then loses mass and density and this could cause an aged appearance. But with jawbone grafting, we can strengthen these weakened portions and even prepare your smile to receive dental implants! In today’s blog, your Encinitas/San Diego, CA, periodontist talks about our laser-assisted jawbone grafting procedure.
The Loss of Jawbone Structure
What happens to make our jawbone structure lose mass and density? With periodontitis, you experience a stage of periodontal disease linked to tooth loss. When you begin to lose natural teeth, the body will suspend the flow of calcium and phosphorus to the jawbone. Without regular doses of these nutrients, the bone tissue loses mass and density, gradually breaking down to cause further tooth loss and a prematurely aged appearance. This can also mean there simply is not enough structure to support one or more dental implants to address your tooth loss. But with grafting and laser technology, we can help correct the issue!
The Grafting Process
Also known as a ridge augmentation, this is a procedure that adds new structure to the lower jaw to fortify it and enable your smile to support dental implants. Our team will essentially provide new structure, either taken from other parts of your body like your jaw, knee, or hip, or from donor or synthetic sources, and apply it to the jaw. This bonds with the structures and provides new bone to support dental implants.
How We Assist With Advanced Laser Technology
Our team can use dental lasers to modify the bone and gum structures to prepare the smile for the placement of your new structures. Lasers can target areas of the smile with precision, and provide care with a lower risk of bleeding, function, and swelling. The area heals quicker too, so you return to your normal routine in a shorter time frame. Lack of sutures and scalpels also means you may need little to no anesthesia too. Once the grafted structure has bonded with the jaw and the placement area has healed, we can move forward with dental implants.
Our team will insert the implant post at specific angles, positions, and depths to ensure stability and then stimulate jawbone growth so your new teeth can last for decades. We can then attach a restoration for a single one, or a denture if you have more advanced tooth loss. If you have any questions about how we treat tooth loss, then contact our team today.
Do You Have Questions About Our Ridge Augmentation?
We want to help you maintain a full and beautiful smile, one with results that can truly last. If you would like to find out more about strengthening your jaw following tooth loss, then please call Dr. Kania’s laser periodontal office in Encinitas/San Diego, CA, at (760) 642-0711.