How Dental Implants Support Aging Bones

If you're over the age of 50, you may be at risk for osteoporosis. At this age, the likelihood that the bones in your jaw may weaken increases. If you are missing any teeth, that likelihood increases further. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid this problem. If you're missing teeth, dental implants may be exactly what you need to prevent bone loss. Read on to learn how this works and how you can keep the bones in your jaw strong.

Weakening Bones With Age

Osteoporosis won't strike everyone, but most people's bones will weaken slightly with age, even without osteoporosis. This includes the bones in the jaw, which support your teeth. If your jaw bones become weak enough, your teeth could potentially fall out, even if they're otherwise healthy. Unfortunately, this becomes even riskier if you're missing teeth, as your jaw is being subjected to less pressure than a healthy jaw with all of its teeth would.

Pressure = Stronger Bones

Subjecting your bones to pressure helps to keep them strong, and that's exactly what chewing, biting, and clenching your teeth does for your jaw. It's the same principle behind why doctors recommend weight lifting to help keep the bones in your entire body strong as you age. The body responds to pressure by rebuilding the bones with nutrients like calcium.

Your normal activities of chewing and clenching your teeth will help to keep your jaw strong. However, if a tooth or teeth are missing, the pressure from these activities won't be evenly distributed to your jaw. This will allow portions of your jaw to weaken, which is what you want to avoid.

Dental Implants Provide Pressure

If you're missing teeth and want to avoid bone loss in your jaw, dental implants can help. Dental implants are installed in the jaw bone, which means that they transfer energy just like a normal tooth would. When you bite down, the implant will transfer pressure to the jawbone it's held in, and that will encourage the bone to stay strong.

Dental implants offer this advantage, while other tooth replacement options don't. For example, partial dentures may apply pressure to the gums, but since they sit above the gums, that pressure is unlikely to go deep enough to affect your jaw and keep it strong.

Dental implants are a great choice for anyone missing teeth that's approaching 50 or already over 50. Talk to your dentist about having dental implants installed where you're missing teeth for immediate health benefits for your jaw. Visit websites like http://www.aperfectsmileinprice.com to learn more.

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