Your jawbone may not always be something you think of when you consider the state of your oral health. More noticeable things, like your teeth and gums, can often take center stage, especially when it comes to routine things like daily dental hygiene practices. However, the health and integrity of your jawbone structure play several important roles in your oral health, and much more. Today, we examine a few important reasons why your jawbone’s integrity matters, and why jawbone surgery may be required to improve it.
1. It’s the literal foundation of your smile
Your jawbone structure serves several different functions, but one of the most important to your overall oral health is providing support to your healthy, natural teeth. It does this by securing your teeth’s roots within sockets in the bone structure, allowing the jawbone to stabilize your teeth as you bite and chew. The bone structure of your dental ridge also supplies your natural teeth with the minerals and nutrients they require to stay strong and healthy. If the health and integrity of your jawbone structure is compromised, then its ability to serve as your smile’s foundation may also be compromised.
2. It’s the key to retaining your healthy, natural teeth
Because of the different functions it serves in preserving your teeth, maintaining the health and integrity of your jawbone is essential to retaining them. For example, many cases of tooth loss occur due to problems with the supportive structures of people’s smiles, including diminished health and integrity of their jawbone structures. Most frequently, these structures are compromised by the progression of periodontal disease, which is a progressive condition that involves the destruction of your gum tissues, periodontal ligaments, and jawbone structure.
3. It can noticeably impact your facial appearance
The diminishing of your jawbone’s health and integrity can occur for different reasons and to different degrees, and the specifics of your concern will determine the ways in which it impacts your oral health. However, when your jawbone’s strength, symmetry, and other physical features are compromised severely enough, it can have a noticeable impact on the overall appearance of your smile and facial features. The fact that these impacts are visible indicates how serious they are, and means your jawbone’s condition is more likely to negatively impact other factors, such as your bite’s ability to function properly.
Improve your jawbone’s health and integrity
Your jawbone isn’t just the foundation of your smile, but also the main source of support for several other oral and facial structures. To learn more, or to schedule a consultation, call Santa Rosa Oral Surgery in Santa Rosa, CA, today at 707-545-4625.
