tips for adjusting to dentures

If you experience flaring, tilting, and rotating of teeth, it could be dental bone loss. Bone loss is the loss of bone tissue in the tooth, which eventually leads to tooth decay. It is commonly caused by root canals, tooth extractions, osteoporosis, or diabetes.

It is usually impossible to reverse significant bone loss without surgery, but moderate dental bone loss can be prevented with minor procedures and home treatment. Here are tips to prevent dental bone loss.

Undergo Socket Preservation

It is essential to care for sockets after an extraction or root canal. After an extraction, a blood clot occurs in the empty tooth space to protect the nerve and gums. 

Ask your dentist about a socket preservation procedure, which remove infected tissue and to stop resorption under the tooth. Talk to your dentist how to take care of the socket at home.  

Consider Deep Scaling and Planing

Deep scaling is a deep cleaning technique to remove the roots that have been infected and surface plaque with ultrasonic instruments. The dentist will measure the area around the tooth to determine if you have a pocket. During the planing phase, the dentist may clean the tooth manually..

Deep scaling prevents further bone loss. Patients with diabetes mellitus may require a longer healing time. You could be prescribed doxycylcine to help boost the immune system, and you may be advised to use a chlorhexidine rinse for two weeks to help fight bacteria.

Prevent Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is common among women over 60 because of an imbalance in the calcium-phosphate equilibrium. The  National Institute of Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease suggests 1200 mg of calcium for women 51-70, and 1000 mg daily for males 51-70.

Calcium is essential to fight bone loss. Add more calcium-rich foods to your diet, such as yogurt, low-fat milk, and spinach. Calcium is also available in supplements..

The NIAMS also recommends 600 IU of Vitamin D daily for adults under 70, and 800 IU for adults over 70. Vitamin D helps absorb calcium, and it increases bone density..

A Vitamin D deficiency weakens existing bone. Increase Vitamin D by spending several minutes in the sun, drinking fortified milk, or by taking a supplement. If you smoke, consider quitting to protect against bone loss. Request a blood test from your doctor to measure Vitamin D levels.

Ask About Bone Grafting

Bone grafting replaces lost bone with new bone from synthetic materials, a donor, or another part of the body. This allows the bone tissue to reconnect to the jaw, and make new bone.

The method used depends on what the dentist, like Tony Parsley, DMD, determines will work the best. It commonly takes three to six months before you notice results. Recovery is based on the amount of tissue used, and the specific procedure but expect it to take two weeks for everything to heal.