Can You Get Dental Implants With Osteoporosis?

If you have one or more missing teeth and are seeking replacement options, you probably know that dental implants come highly recommended. Since dental implants are fitted deep down in the bone of your jaw, many people worry that they won't be able to get them because they have weak bones or suffer from a disease like osteoporosis. If you're worried that you might not qualify, read on to learn more about your options for dental implants.

How the Implant Works

Dental implants are made up of two parts: the post and the tooth. The tooth is what sits above your gums and both looks and functions like a real tooth. The post sits beneath it, holding it in place and rooting it into your jawbone. This is what helps a dental implant to function more like a real tooth than dentures or bridges can.

Unfortunately, it's true that you do need to have a certain level of bone strength in order to tolerate dental implants. Not everyone's jaw is strong enough to withstand the stress of a standard dental implant being put in.

Options

Thankfully, there's more than one kind of dental implant on the market. If your jaw isn't strong enough to tolerate a standard implant, it may be able to support a mini dental implant. These implants look exactly the same on top, and they function the same way. The only difference is, a mini implant is slightly smaller and thinner than a traditional dental implant. This makes it easier for jawbones with a lower bone density to support the posts.

Reversing Bone Weakness

To make matters even better, you may be interested to know that the dental implants could end up helping your low bone density in the long run.

Dental implants support jaw bone density by transferring pressure from the new artificial tooth down into the jaw bone. This same process is performed on your healthy remaining teeth on a daily basis. When the pressure is transferred, the jaw builds new bone cells to replace old and weakening ones. When a tooth is lost and a replacement isn't put in, that process fails to happen and the jaw gets weaker. By putting in a dental implant, you can restart this process and regain lost bone density.

If you're worried about your low bone density making it impossible for you to get dental implants, don't be; your dentist will likely be able to find a dental implant that works for you and keeps your jaw strong, too. For more information, visit sites like http://www.accentdentalnwi.com/.