What Causes Bone Loss?
Bone loss is a very common oral disease among patients, little known but absolutely not to be underestimated.
First of all, it is essential to know that bone tissue constitutes the natural support of the teeth and has the important function of keeping them firmly in place, in their original position. When important quantities of bone and gingiva are lacking in the arches, dental mobility phenomena occur which, if not treated in time, lead to the loss of the affected teeth.
Particular clinical conditions and a whole series of dental diseases can lead to a more or less important bone deficiency, responsible for causing serious damage to the entire dentition.
Even in the presence of one or more areas of the oral cavity that have remained toothless for a long time, there is a weakening of the bony walls supporting the neighboring teeth, which inevitably tend to move from their initial position. For this reason, it is really important to diagnose the problem in time, so as to limit possible damage and preserve dental health for as long as possible.
Let's see what causes dental bone loss and from which pathologies it is generated. First, the lack of bone and gingival tissue occurs as a result of the extraction of one or more dental elements, but not only. Here is what the lowering of the bone and gum level is attributable to and from what other pathologies it can arise:
- Periodontal disease, also known as periodontitis or pyorrhea, mainly attributable to poor oral hygiene problems and accumulations of bacterial plaque below the gum margins. It results in the destruction of the periodontal tissues that support the teeth and the subsequent mobility of the affected elements;
- Partial or total edentulism, or the absence of teeth in an area or the entire dental arch. Following a dental extraction, the bone surrounding the empty cavity retracts together with the gum, creating a bone gap that tends to increase in size over time. This is why, a lost tooth should always be replaced within the time recommended by the trusted dentist;
- Dental diseases such as periodontal abscesses, infections of the gums or cysts of the oral cavity which, if not treated in the right way and at the right time, could leave important bone gaps;
- Aging: it is not a real disease, but a natural physiological process, which in the long run causes the lowering of the level and the spontaneous retraction of the bone crest. Women are more affected than men, but both sexes can begin to suffer from this problem as early as around 50 years of age;
- Osteoporosis, a disease often related to aging, which causes the rarefaction of bone tissue, mainly due to an important vitamin D deficiency.
There are also some factors that accelerate the process of dental bone loss, such as poor or inadequate oral hygiene. Teeth cleaning, both at home and professionally, plays a fundamental role in the health of the entire oral cavity and in the prevention of diseases such as periodontitis and caries.
Even the habit of smoking leads to important negative effects on the integrity of the periodontium, favoring the onset of bacterial infections, gingivitis, and periodontal disease.