You can lose parts of your jawbone if you don’t have any teeth along that part of your jawbone. If you have had missing teeth along your jawbone for a while, you might notice that the tooth’s area has become smaller. That’s because your body believes your jaw doesn’t need as much bone mass, and it moves the bone to other places in your body. In order to get dental implants, you need to have a sufficient amount of jawbone to hold the dental implant.
If we determine that you do not have enough jawbone to support a dental implant after your initial dental exam, we may suggest a ridge augmentation or sinus lift, both of which can add the needed support back into your jawbone in order to hold a dental implant. After you have healed from the necessary procedures, we can begin discussing your dental implant options.