What is Dental Bone Loss?
Osteoporosis is a depletion of the bone: the bone becomes less dense and less dense, and therefore more prone to fractures. Dental bone loss is when this process happens in your mouth and jaw, which can affect your teeth and your overall oral health.
The bone is living tissue, and throughout life there are processes of disintegration and construction. Small amounts of bone are destroyed and replaced with a new bone. During childhood, and especially during adolescence, bone mass is built up. At the end of puberty, between the ages of 20 and 30, the maximum amount of bone is reached.
The maximum amount of bone varies from person to person. This amount is determined by hereditary factors and environmental factors. Environmental factors include, among others, nutrition, exercise, diseases, and various treatments done over the years.
In your 30’s and 40’s, the rate of bone decomposition is equal to the rate of construction, so that the amount of bone does not change. Then - especially in women after menopause - the rate of bone breakdown exceeds the rate of construction, so there is a gradual and continuous decrease in the amount of bone and its density. The amount of bone in each woman in the postmenopausal period is determined by the maximum amount of bone she has reached at the end of puberty and according to the rate at which she loses bone mass from the onset of menopause.
The rate of bone loss in most healthy adults is relatively slow: between 1% and 2% per year. Over the years, however, it is a significant cumulative loss, which is accompanied by changes in bone structure. The result of these processes is a decrease in bone density and strength and a higher risk of fractures.
Loss of bone mass can be of varying degrees of severity. At the beginning of the process, when bone loss is low, the condition is called osteopenia. When the loss of bone mass is severe, the condition is called osteoporosis.
What causes osteoporosis?
These are the main risk factors for the onset of osteoporosis:
- Gender: Women are at higher risk than men.
- Age: Adults are at higher risk than young people. The condition is more common in menopausal women and men 70 years and older.
- Body type: small and thin people are at higher risk than tall people with full body structure.
- Heredity: Those who have first-degree relatives who have the disease are at higher risk than those who do not have relatives who have the disease.
- Smoking: Smoking is a risk factor for many diseases, including bone diseases. Among other things, it reduces bone density.
- Cessation of the menstrual cycle at a young age (low exposure to estrogen): Women in whom the menstrual cycle appeared at a relatively old age and stopped at a relatively young age are more prone to osteoporosis than women in whom the menstrual cycle appeared at a young age and ended in old age.
- Eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia.
- Excessive alcohol consumption.
- Increased caffeine intake (more than 2 drinks a day containing caffeine).
- Various chronic diseases such as chronic arthritis, hyperthyroidism, long-term diabetes, kidney failure, other joint diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) , Gaucher disease, brittle bone disease (osteogenesis imperfect), AIDS or carriers Of HIV, various hormonal diseases (such as Cushing's disease) and hypogonadism (decreased testosterone production in men).
- Prolonged use of certain drugs such as steroid drugs, epilepsy drugs, breast cancer, and other drugs to treat cancer.
- Prolonged lying down - for example due to illness.
- Past fractures not caused by trauma.
- Lack of vitamins and minerals and especially lack of vitamin D and calcium.
To prevent dental bone loss, you must visit your dentist regularly, eat a healthy diet, and maintain proper oral hygiene as directed by your dentist.
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