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If the bone that supports and holds your teeth in place has shrunk due to disease, tooth extraction or an infection causing gum recession and loose wobbly teeth you may be wondering if and how you can regrow the bone around the teeth naturally.
Sadly, it’s not yet possible to stimulate the bone to regrow and rebuild the lost bone around the teeth.
However, by developing good oral hygiene further bone loss can be prevented and advanced dental procedures available to replace the bone.
This post will explain what causes bone loss in order to explain how best to prevent further bone loss and the treatments available to reverse the bone loss.
What Is Dental Bone Loss and What Causes It?
Tooth loss or disease can cause deterioration and shrinkage of the alveolar bone that surrounds and supports the teeth. This bone loss can cause the teeth to spread out, and become loose and wobbly putting them at risk of falling out. The gums also recede as bone is lost.
Whilst there are many reasons, including tooth extraction, misalignment and some diseases, the major cause of bone loss is periodontitis.
Does Gum Disease Cause Bone Loss?
Periodontitis is an advanced form of gum disease. It’s an inflammatory disease caused by harmful bacteria in the mouth. It is the body’s host and inflammatory response that leads to bone destruction.
Gum disease is initiated when bacteria accumulate along the gumline. This accumulation is referred to as plaque. When plaque isn’t removed each day, the bacteria irritate the gums, they become red, swollen and inflamed. The gums may bleed when you brush your teeth.
When this gingivitis isn’t treated, the gums start to pull away from the teeth and pockets are created. Bacteria can get below the gum line and our body’s immune system tries to eliminate the bacteria by mounting an immune response. This response causes the destruction of the bone that holds the teeth in place. The process happens slowly over a period of time but doesn’t cause any pain, so can go unnoticed.
Is the Bone Loss Reversible?
Sadly, bone loss cannot be reversed, it cannot be stimulated to regrow and without good oral hygiene, the bone will continue to be destroyed and will eventually lead to gum recession and tooth loss.
The good news is that bone loss can be stopped, and it can be prevented from getting worse.
How Do You Know You Have Dental Bone Loss Caused by Periodontitis?
Bone loss in the jaw often leads to loose wobbly teeth that are at risk of falling out. You may also have other symptoms such as red gums that look puffy and swollen. They may bleed when you clean your teeth, you may experience halitosis and have a bad taste in the mouth.
Prevent Further Bone Loss & Stop Tooth Loss
The best way to stop bone loss is to treat the periodontitis that’s causing it by developing and maintaining good oral hygiene. You can fix gum disease at home.
Good Oral Hygiene
The most effective way to treat periodontitis is with good oral hygiene to remove harmful bacteria that are causing cells of the immune system to destroy the alveolar bone.
Good oral hygiene can be achieved by
- Brushing the teeth twice a day with a soft, small-headed brush for 2 minutes
- Carefully clean the interdental spaces each day using a single tufted toothbrush, interdental brushes or dental floss
- Brushing with fluoride toothpaste is recommended by the major dental health authorities around the world
- Avoid rinsing your mouth with water and mouthwash after cleaning your teeth as the fluoride in toothpaste helps to prevent cavities
Clean Along the GumLine and Within Periodontal Pockets
Until now it was difficult to disrupt plaque from within the deep periodontal pockets at home but the revolutionary gum pocket brush has changed this. You can now disrupt bacteria from along the gum line and the deep pockets at home with this incredible new brush.
Gum Health Treatments
If you have bone loss caused by periodontitis, plaque and tartar are probably surrounding the tooth roots. It’s difficult to remove the plaque from below the gum line without the help of a dentist or hygienist.
A dental clinic can clean the tooth roots with surgical and non-surgical gum health treatments such as scale and root planing or gum flap surgery.
New treatments such as LANAP may be able to prevent further bone loss and even help regenerate the bone.
Other Factors
There are a number of things that can contribute to the development of periodontitis and bone loss. Controlling or eliminating these risk factors is very helpful in preventing gum disease and bone loss.
Stop Smoking – Smoking and tobacco are detrimental to bone health. Reducing or ideally stopping smoking can help protect your general health as well as your gums.
Healthy Diet – Eating a diet rich in vitamins such as calcium, vitamin D, protein, and phosphorus can help you maintain healthy bones. Vitamin deficiencies or diets lacking in certain vitamins and minerals may contribute to the development of periodontal disease.
Reduce Sugary Drinks and Snacks – Bateria loves sugar, they have a feast on it. Sugary diets are known to increase the number of harmful bacteria in the mouth. Reducing the amount and number of times each day you eat sugar can help prevent gum disease.
Control Blood Sugars – uncontrolled diabetes is one of the leading causes of gum disease. Controlling blood sugars can help prevent gum disease and bone loss.
Reverse Bone Loss With Bone Replacement Therapies
Whilst good oral hygiene and professional gum health treatments will stop bone loss from getting any worse it cannot get the bone to regrow around the teeth. If you have experienced considerable bone loss advanced dental surgery may be an option to replace the missing bone.
Bone Grafts Rebuild The Bone
Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that uses bone from somewhere else in the body, donor bone or synthetic grafting material to rebuild the damaged alveolar bone.
After the graft, the body absorbs the grafted material and replaces it with healthy natural tissue restoring the density and volume of the jaw bone.
A number of other treatments such as guided tissue regeneration and Emdogain gel may be used at the same time to restore gum tissue and periodontal ligaments.
Stop Bone Shrinking Away After Tooth Loss
If you’re unfortunate enough to lose a tooth you may be wondering what you can do to stop the bone from shrinking away. The truth is that the bone that holds your teeth in your jaw has no purpose once your teeth are no longer there and your bone will then resorb.
There is a way to prevent this resorption using dental implants. By placing dental implants to replace the lost root the bone has purpose and will not shrink in the same way.
Take Away
Gum disease is the most common cause of bone loss around the teeth. Whilst it isn’t possible to regrow the bone around the teeth naturally you can prevent further destruction by developing and maintaining good oral hygiene.
Sources
- Winning, L., Linden, G. Periodontitis and systemic disease. BDJ Team 2, 15163 (2015). Available here: https://doi.org/10.1038/bdjteam.2015.163
- Bodic F, Hamel L, Lerouxel E, Baslé MF, Chappard D. Bone loss and teeth. Joint Bone Spine. 2005 May;72(3):215-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jbspin.2004.03.007. PMID: 15850992. Available here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15850992/
