Missing teeth cause jaw bone loss due to the absence of stimulus. As a result, the bone volume decreases in the jaw area gradually. Many studies point to the fact that in the first year of missing tooth alone, the jaw bone in that area decreases by as much as 25%. In a few years time, the height of the jaw bone on the missing tooth area decreases by few millimeters. Only dental implants arrest bone loss and can halt this progressive degeneration of jaw bone.
We often associate missing teeth with a poor smile and bad facial aesthetics. Though this is true and affects the confidence level of the person with missing teeth there is more to it. Missing teeth cause gradual erosion of the jaw bones. This erosion can end in weakening the healthy teeth too. But how does missing teeth cause bone loss in the jaw?