As soon as your tooth is extracted, you should definitely consider getting a dental implant. This is because once the tooth is extracted, the bone will begin to shrink. You can’t stop this from happening. For some it happens faster than others, but for most people it may take only a couple of months to lose a lot of bone. You can’t see the bone loss because it happens under your gum. Only an X-ray can tell you how much bone you have got left.
If you waited too long to replace the missing tooth, you might experience too much bone loss, making it harder for a dental implant to be placed. The old adage “If you don’t use it, you will lose it” applies to the bone in your mouth too. For example, if you stop using your legs for a few weeks, it would shrink and become less functional. You will have to go through physiotherapy and may even learn how to walk again.
Once a tooth is extracted, the bone that once surrounded that tooth is no longer stimulated by the force put on it when you chew. Because there is no force or daily stimulation to the bone, it shrinks. It shrinks very quickly and will continue to do so until an implant is placed.
A bridge does not prevent bone loss. A denture or partial accelerates bone loss.
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