Can You Get Dental Implants With Weak Bones?
If you've done some research on dental implants or talked to your dentist about them, you may have learned that the strength of your jaw bones may determine whether or not you can get standard dental implants. While this is true, it doesn't mean all hope is lost if your bones are particularly weak. Read on to learn what you can do to boost your chances and what options you have if you don't qualify for standard implants.
Supportive Strengthening
One of the first things you should do is consider how you can strengthen your jaw bones; this is partially dependent on how they became weak in the first place.
For example, if your bones are weak because you have osteoporosis or a poor diet, correcting or medicating these problems can help you to rebuild your bone density. By raising your bone density, you may qualify for standard dental implants.
If your jaw is weak because you have missing teeth, you may not be able to get standard implants. However, that doesn't mean you can't get implants at all.
Options if Density is Too Low
Dental implants come in different shapes and sizes, so if standard dental implants don't work for you, mini implants might.
Miniature dental implants have the exact same type of artificial tooth on top, which will seamlessly blend in with your surrounding teeth. However, the posts that the teeth are sitting on top of are smaller. This means that your bones don't have to be as strong to hold them in place.
Process
Getting dental implants, regardless of the size and type, follow the same basic process. Your dentist will take measurements of your mouth and surrounding teeth, as well as a set of x-rays. If your dentist decides that your jaw can support either standard or mini dental implants, you'll be ready to begin the process.
Dentists install the posts for dental implants first. Once the post has been surgically implanted, the gums will be stitched closed around them. You'll spend some time letting your gums heal to ensure that the post will stay in place once it's mounted with an artificial tooth. Once the healing process is done, your dentist will attach the teeth to each post. From there, you'll be able to return to all your usual day-to-day activities, like eating and biting.
Dental implants are a good fit for most people, even if your bones aren't as strong and healthy as they could be. Since dental implants help to support jaw strength, getting implants may help you to improve the density of your bones over time. Talk to a dentist if you want to find out if your jaw is suitable for dental implants.
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