One of the roles of your teeth is to provide stimulation for your jawbone. Every time you chew, the teeth stimulate the bone. Stimulation tells your body that nutrients are required. Following tooth extraction, your jawbone loses the stimulation from the extracted tooth. This results in less stimulation. The body thinks fewer nutrients are needed, so it sends fewer. Over time, the bone begins to weaken and lose mass. The bone starts to change shape, which causes healthy teeth to begin to shift out of alignment. This alters your bite, which can then cause several serious issues. Dental implants are a popular solution for replacing missing teeth. This treatment uses a titanium post to support a replacement tooth. The post is surgically placed into your jawbone. To be successful, the post requires that your jawbone fuses to it. This process, called osseointegration, stabilizes the post in your jaw so that it can properly support your new tooth. The post then becomes a replacement root that restores stimulation to your jawbone, stopping and preventing bone loss in your jaw. However, without sufficient bone mass, your jawbone cannot fuse properly.