How do you know if you have enough bone for a dental implant?

The most critical step will be your dentist ensuring that you have enough bone space to work with for the implant. For an implant to be considered, you must have enough bone in your jaw. Otherwise, the implant has nothing to support it and can’t be positioned properly.

How much bone is needed around a dental implant?

As a general guideline, at least 1 mm of bone is required around a dental implant. More space is required when the implant is next to a tooth or another implant. If there is not enough bone to completely envelope the implant, a bone graft will be required.

Is dental bone loss serious?

If left untreated, bone loss may become so severe that dentures can no longer be held in place, even with the use of stronger adhesives, and may require a new set to be made.

Is tooth bone loss reversible?

On its own, bone loss cannot be reversed. Left untreated, the bone in your jaw and around your teeth will continue to resorb, leading to more tooth loss, disease, and pain.

Can you build up bone in your mouth?

If your dentist advises that you don’t have enough bone to support an implant, then you may be able to have it built up. Bone augmentation is a term that covers a variety of procedures that ‘build’ bone.

Is a bone graft always needed for an implant?

Bone grafting is not always required for dental implant placement, but in cases in which this procedure is indicated, it can help to significantly improve the patient’s chances of good treatment outcomes. Only your surgeon can determine the need for a bone graft, often with the use of special imaging technology.

Do I have enough bone left to have dental implants?

Many patients are told that they do not have enough bone left to have dental implants placed. Typically they had the teeth removed a while ago, they wore denture for long time, the bone melted away and all that is left now is an eggshell of bone which is definitely not enough to place implants.

What qualifies you to have dental implants?

The main qualifier for having dental implants is having enough bone. If you don’t have enough bone for dental implants, the bone can be rebuilt or I can use remotely placed implants such as pterygoid implants and zygomatic implants. If you don’t have enough gum, that can be added back (with a gum graft), too.

Why do people get dental implants instead of dentures?

Typically they had the teeth removed a while ago, they wore denture for long time, the bone melted away and all that is left now is an eggshell of bone which is definitely not enough to place implants. They cannot tolerate dentures anymore and they seek a change.

What happens to your jaw bone when you lose a tooth?

  If you lose your teeth your jaw bone shrinks from disuse.   This also happens when you are only missing even one tooth! If you lose one tooth, the bone in the area of that tooth shrinks while the other areas stay intact. Here is a sample of a patient where they lost a lot of bone in just one area: Dental implants preserve your jaw bone