Losing teeth to issues like periodontal disease could mean more than simply gaps in your smile. Your jawbone structure could weaken with time, and this could lead to an aged appearance! But your Encinitas/San Diego, CA, periodontist can help with jawbone grafting, which we assist with dental lasers!
The Impact of Gum Disease on Your Jaw
How does gum disease lead to missing teeth and weakened jawbone structure? Without routine care from a periodontist to manage the disease, the issue could reach a stage known as periodontitis. At this stage, the connective tissues between your teeth and gums are severed, which leads to loose and missing teeth. If you don’t take action to address missing teeth with options that stimulate jawbone structure such as dental implants, the area continues to weaken, which means further tooth loss and eventually, a prematurely aged appearance. If we need to strengthen your jaw to ensure you can support dental implants, we can do so with laser-assisted jawbone grafting.
The Grafting Process
Our team will begin by taking digital images of your smile with x-rays and CT imaging, so we can plan treatment in detail. We will need to add new structure to the weakened portions of your lower jaw. This could come from synthetic or donor structures, or we could take bone from other parts of your own body, such as the rear of your jawbone, your hip, or your knee. We then apply this to the weakened areas, where it bonds with the jawbones and creates a new structure that can support dental implants. When the area heals and we guide the dental implants into place, they act as new roots, so the flow of nutrients resumes and your smile remains intact. You have teeth that can last for decades!
How Dental Lasers Help
How do we aid in the process with dental lasers? With our advanced laser systems, we can make any necessary adjustments to the underlying bone and gum structures, and address connective tissues too. This allows us to prepare the area for grafting and to ensure the dental implant placement heals quickly, so you can return to your routine much sooner. The technology also helps destroy disease-causing bacteria, so we can better safeguard your smile against inflammation and periodontal disease.
If you have any questions about how we correct your smile and improve it following tooth loss, then contact our team today. You can see our team before the year comes to an end and your dental benefits expire!
Schedule Your Appointment for Periodontal Treatment
We would like to help you rebuild your smile and support dental implants, with the help of dental lasers. To learn more about the process of treating weakened jawbone structure, call Dr. Ann Kania in Encinitas, CA, today at 760-642-0711.