When Do You Need Laser Jawbone Grafting?

Losing teeth to periodontal disease can weaken your jaw and leave you vulnerable to an aged appearance. This could also limit your ability to receive dental implants. To strengthen your jaw, your Encinitas/San Diego, CA, periodontist could offer help with laser jawbone grafting.

Tooth Loss and a Weakened Jaw

When periodontal disease reaches the advanced stage known as periodontitis, this could cause the connective tissues between the teeth and gums to be severed, which leads to adult tooth loss. In fact, this is the most common cause of tooth loss! The body then responds to the missing tooth by suspending the flow of calcium and phosphorus to the jaw, which means the area weakens and erodes. This in turn causes further tooth loss, an aged appearance, and could leave the bite unable to support dental implants. But with a grafting procedure and laser sensitivity, we can fortify the weakened areas of your smile and move forward with tooth replacement!

The Jawbone Grafting Procedure

Also known as ridge augmentation, this involves adding new tissues to the lower portion. We could use bone tissue taken from the rear of your jaw, your hip, or even from your knee bone. We could also employ synthetic or donor tissues. We surgically apply this to the bone and it bonds with it, creating new structures that can support one or more dental implants, and also prevent you from developing an older appearance.

Assistance with Advanced Dental Lasers

Our team can assist the procedure with laser dentistry, which allows us to make any necessary adjustments to your bone and soft tissues. Lasers can target areas with precision and prevent damage to healthy structures. This can also help us address and manage gum disease by removing diseased portions and destroying pockets of harmful bacteria. The technology also lowers the risk of bleeding, infection, and swelling.

Once the procedure is complete, we can then insert one or more dental implants into the jaw, where they act like new roots and bond with the area. This means your new teeth can stay in place like natural ones, and remain there for decades to come or even potentially a lifetime with proper care and attention. If you have any questions about how we strengthen your bite with grafting, or about how we address periodontal disease or treat tooth loss with dental implants, then contact our office today to learn more and get started!

Schedule Your Appointment and Preserve Your Smile

A ridge augmentation can prepare your smile for dental implant placement and help you enjoy a more youthful appearance following tooth loss. To learn more about laser dentistry and jawbone grafting, call Dr. Ann Kania in Encinitas, CA, today at 760-642-0711.