When gum disease goes untreated for a long period of time, the jaw bone under the gums can begin to degrade. When this occurs, it can cause your teeth to shift or even become loose. It can cause your bite to change and, if enough of the bone degrades, may even change how you look. Fortunately, there is a procedure that can reverse this. Jaw bone regeneration is a type of periodontal surgery that helps regenerate the lost tissue and jaw bone. It can prevent tooth loss and restore your bite. It’s also often necessary before dental implants can be installed in those who have lost teeth due to gum disease.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Jaw bone regeneration is somewhat common, but it is also a surgical procedure. You’ll need to take time off to have it does because there is a healing time involved. First, a membrane will be placed between the bone and your gums. This helps prevent the gum from growing into the bone while the area heals. We may also need to put down a layer of specific proteins to help stimulate the tissue there or add a bone graft in order to help your body regenerate the bone and tissue on its own.
In most cases, the membrane put down is designed to dissolve after several weeks, so there’s no need to return to have it removed. You will, of course, need to come back in for a few follow-up visits so we can make certain that everything is healing as it should be and that there are no issues with the bone graft.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
If you’ve suffered from periodontitis and have lost some of the density in your jaw bone, you may need a regeneration procedure. Give us a call today so we can schedule a consultation and see exactly what’s going on.