A five-year study of a dental implant material developed at the University of Florida shows it successfully prevents bone loss after tooth extraction. Jaw bone deterioration can alter facial structure, enabling some denture wearers to touch their nose with their tongue and giving them the appearance of cartoon characters Andy Gump or Popeye.
Dentures also can dislodge.
The problem forces many to have their dentures repeatedly relined or even replaced. Bone loss is most rapid in the first six to 24 months after tooth extraction. In the first five years, the typical person will lose almost three-eighths of an inch from each jaw. But when a slender, translucent cone-shaped implant made of Bioglass is implanted in the jaw, bone loss is slowed or prevented, said Harold Stanley, professor emeritus of oral and maxillofacial pathology and oncology at UF's College of Dentistry and head of the Bioglass implant study. Bioglass could be the substance that could make them happier.