The Foundation for Oral Health
Many people focus on their teeth and gums when thinking about oral health, but there’s another critical component — your jawbone. This foundation stabilizes your teeth, promotes optimal functioning of your bite, and maintains the natural form of your face. Taking care of your jawbone is therefore an important part of protecting your long-term oral health. A few simple steps every day help us preserve the structure that supports our smile.
What Do Jawbones Do?
A healthy jawbone securely holds your teeth in position. When there is adequate healthy bone, it holds those teeth in proper alignment and gives them the necessary stability to bite and chew effectively. If the bone and surrounding supportive tissues become damaged, your teeth may start to move, loosen, or develop uneven wear patterns.
Proper jaw and tooth alignment distributes bite pressure evenly. Problems result if certain teeth are forced to take on more pressure than others due to misalignment. It often leads to pain, more tooth wear, cracked teeth, and problems with the muscles of the jaw.
Aside from chewing, the jaw also plays a major role in everyday functions such as speaking and swallowing. The temporomandibular joints (TMJ) connect the lower jaw to the skull, allowing the jaw to open wide enough to swallow food, talk clearly, yawn, and smile. The proper operation of these joints is critical to your health and wellness.
In addition to providing support for how we eat, speak, and swallow, the jawbone also provides support for the natural curves of your face. Over time, bone loss changes the way we look on the outside by changing the shape of our cheekbones, lips, and lower face. Preserving jawbones preserves a youthful appearance!
What Causes Jawbone Loss?
One of the most common causes of jawbone loss is missing teeth. When we chew, the roots of our teeth communicate pressure to the bone in our jaw, stimulating it to remain healthy and strong. If we lose a tooth and do not replace it with a dental implant, these signals stop going into the bone, and over time, the bone starts to disappear. Missing teeth therefore result in a sunken look in the cheeks and along the jawline.
Gum disease can also damage the jawbone. Advanced periodontal disease damages the tissues and bone that support the teeth, which eventually leads to loose teeth or tooth loss if left untreated. Advanced gum disease, or periodontitis, eventually destroys the soft tissue that surrounds and supports the roots of your teeth, ultimately leading to loose teeth or tooth loss if not treated. This, in turn, creates jawbone loss.
Protecting Your Jawbone
Preventive dental care is one of the best ways to protect your jawbone. Regular dental exams and professional cleanings allow your dentist to monitor your teeth, gums, bite, and bone support. Dental x-rays taken periodically also help identify changes to your jawbone that are not visible during a routine exam. Of course, daily oral hygiene is equally important. Brushing twice a day, flossing daily, and keeping up with professional cleanings prevents gum disease and protects the tissues that support your teeth.
Missing teeth need to be replaced promptly to help preserve jawbone health. Dental implants are a great solution, as they replace the visible portion of the tooth and the root, allowing stimulation to continue in the bone of the jaw. The appearance of patients with dental implants compared to patients with traditional dentures becomes significantly different over time.
It is recommended that patients who have bruxism or grind or clench their teeth regularly use a custom-made nightguard. This helps reduce stress on the teeth, jaw muscles, and joints. Also, addressing bite concerns such as overbite, underbite, crossbite, or open bite in the early stages helps prevent uneven pressure across the teeth and jaw joints.
Keep Your Smile’s Foundation Healthy
Since your jawbone is the foundation of your smile, protecting it is an important part of maintaining your oral health. Routine dental visits give your dental team the opportunity to monitor your oral health, identify concerns early, including those of your jawbone, and recommend preventive care tailored to your needs. In the event of an emergency dental situation, such as the loss of a tooth, we can also make recommendations for dental implants.
Call today to schedule your next checkup with the Placerville Dental Group. We are dedicated to helping our patients maintain healthy teeth, gums, and jawbones for a lifetime of use. Contact the Placerville Dental Group today!
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