When you have lost teeth, over time the jaw could weaken and this could complicate your ability to receive dental implants. With a ridge augmentation, also known as jawbone grafting, we can strengthen the smile, so you can support new teeth. At your Metairie, LA, oral surgery clinic, our team can help protect your smile with bone grafting!
Weakened Jaws and Tooth Loss
Tooth loss could occur due to tooth decay, dental infection, or even injury or gum disease. When this happens, the body will stop sending regular doses of calcium and phosphorus to the jawbone. Without these nutrients, the bone tissue begins to break down, which can lead to an older appearance and even further tooth loss. This also means there may not be enough jawbone structure to support dental implants, severely limiting your tooth replacement options. But our team can conduct a ridge augmentation to strengthen the smile, so you can receive the dental implants that help preserve your smile and youthful facial features!
The Grafting Procedure
The procedure involves adding new tissues to the weakened portions of your jaw, or to the socket where a tooth is lost to preserve it and ensure it can support a dental implant. The new tissues could be taken from the rear of your jaw, your hip, or your knee. We could also employ synthetic materials too. We add these to the areas where the tooth has been lost, and this strengthens the jaw so there is enough tissue to support a dental implant. Once we insert a dental implant, the body will accept it as a tooth root, and this helps preserve the smile by allowing the flow of nutrients to resume.
Sinus Lift
The jawbone grafting procedure is for the lower jaw, but what about the upper portion of your smile? Our team could conduct a sinus lift, which involves raising the sinus floor to provide new structures that can support one or more dental implants. Our team can offer these treatments to help ensure your smile can support a new tooth, or that you can receive fixed dentures, so you have a full smile that looks good and allows you to eat your favorite foods again and smile with confidence.
If you have any questions about how we tackle tooth loss and weakened jawbone structure, then contact our team today to learn more. We want to help you smile without hesitation!
Talk to Your Metairie, LA Dentist About Making Smiles Implant-Ready
To strengthen the jaw following tooth loss, our team can rebuild the smile with a ridge augmentation. For more information on ridge augmentations, reach out to our Metairie, LA oral surgery clinic at (504) 455-7161.