Bone loss is a big deal, and it does not just affect big bones like the femur or tibia but it also is a condition that impacts our boney teeth. Teeth are, after all, just small bones that are used to cut, chop, and grind our food. They have a super-hard outer layer made of enamel, but when we forget to brush, use smoking products or chewing tobacco, expose our teeth to acids that can etch the surface of the enamel, or eat an unhealthy diet that weakens our teeth, they deteriorate. The outer layer thins out, and that makes it easier to pierce. Or what happens is that the outer layer actually gets bigger than it should be because of the build-up of plaque on the outside of the tooth.

The more the plaque grows, the more it serves as a breeding ground and home for bacteria. The bacteria in this unwanted built up plaque on the surface begins to eat its way into the enamel of the tooth. Soon the tooth can be riddled with microscopic holes that we are not even able to see, because they are hidden down inside the covering layer of plaque. The bacteria goes to work ruining the teeth, eating away at the bone, and the next thing you know the bone is lost from the teeth in a permanent way. The tooth has to be repaired or even extracted completely.

So the most important kind of bone loss prevention is regular brushing. If you brush your teeth and keep appointments with the dentist so that he or she can do a thorough cleaning that includes scraping away plaque, chances are you will have healthy strong teeth and little or no bone loss.

Teeth are basically bones - not unlike the other bigger bones in our body like those in the arms and legs. Sometimes, especially as people grow older, they experience loss of bone material. That is one of the biggest reasons, for example, that the elderly often suffer from broken hips - one of the most common types of injury we hear about among seniors. The bones of the leg, hip, or pelvic area get weak. Either the person falls, and the impact of the fall shatters the fragile and thin bones - or the bones actually break first, causing the person to fall. Either way, brittle bones are the culprit. But old or unhealthy teeth also suffer from similar degradation and become weak and easy to crack, break, or penetrate. When that happens the bacteria in the mouth and gums can seep through the wall of the tooth. Once inside the exterior shield it rapidly invades the pulp part of the tooth at its soft and sensitive center where the nerve and blood vessels are, and then spreads through the root canal causing even more trouble.

If the situation has already gone too far, there is no need to worry. Dentists have many methods of reconstructing or repairing damage done by bone loss, and they can both prevent further bone loss and fix teeth or gums that are already troubled because of the effects of dental bone loss.

Eat right, avoid tobacco products and smoking, brush regularly, and visit the dentist at least two times a year and you can help control bone loss and also control the destiny of your dental health.