How Can Osteoporosis Affect Your Teeth?

Osteoporosis as a bone disease is initially unlikely to be associated with dental problems. Nevertheless, the truth is that osteoporosis can very easily affect your oral health in some indirect ways. Osteoporosis is not only about the bones of your arms and legs. It is about your jawbone, too. So, can osteoporosis cause teeth problems? The answer is yes, and because of this, every change to your jawbone should be taken very seriously because your teeth might be in danger very soon.

What Is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens bones and makes them more vulnerable. Therefore, unexpected and unwanted fractures can affect your bones, and as time goes by, bones will be more and more fragile and weakened. This disease is often manifested without any obvious symptoms. It comes with age, and women are mostly affected by it. Also, menopause and lack of Vitamin D and calcium can lead to osteoporosis.

What Is the Connection Between Osteoporosis and Oral Health?

If you suffer from osteoporosis, it is very likely that you are taking some medication for it, antiresorptive or anabolic medications. However, antiresorptive medications could in some cases lead to osteonecrosis of your jaw. It is a situation in which some of the bone tissues of the jaw die. In that way, your jawbone could be badly damaged and your dental health will be impaired.
On the other hand, there is a proven connection between periodontal disease and osteoporosis. If the density of your bones is lower than it should be, bacteria can easily penetrate and affect your bone tissue. Eventually, it can lead to gum disease.

How Can Your Dentist Detect Osteoporosis?

Even though osteoporosis is not easily detectable, a timely visit to your dentist could lead to an early diagnosis and the right treatment. Thus, if you are experiencing the symptoms of gum disease or tooth loss, this might indicate the first stages of osteoporosis which your dentist should recognise and start with the treatment.
There are other ways of detecting osteoporosis, too. By regularly checking your medical record the dentist could see if you have any risk factors for osteoporosis, such as decreased density of your jawbone which could also indicate bone loss in some other part of your body. That is why it is so important to visit the dentist on a regular basis and try not to avoid any scheduled appointments.

How Can Osteoporosis Affect Your Teeth?

If you have osteoporosis, it means that your bones have less density than normal and among them is the jawbone, too. Weakness of the jawbone can lead to some other serious problems in your mouth. So, does osteoporosis cause your teeth to break? Yes, it can lead to that, too. For example, if the jawbone is weakened, your teeth can start to lose their stability and they can break easily. All of these things can eventually lead to tooth loss. Additionally, people with dentures might experience some problems because of the low level of density in their jawbones. Their dentures could start to loosen and they might have to change dentures more often than people who don’t suffer from osteoporosis.
Moreover, there is an indirect connection between osteoporosis and teeth implants. It means that if you have some type of advanced osteoporosis, it is likely that the bone in your jawbone will not fuse with the implants.

How to Treat Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is usually treated with medications. Before taking any of them, you should consult your dentist regarding some of the possible side effects and negative influences on your oral health.
Bisphosphonate therapy is usually considered when treating osteoporosis in order to increase bone density and avoid bone fractures. This therapy can be taken intravenously or orally. But as was previously mentioned, taking such therapy for osteoporosis can cause some serious problems in your jaw so you should be very cautious.
Besides this, doctors also suggest taking some other treatments for osteoporosis such as hormone replacement therapy, parathyroid hormones, calcitonin and some antibody medications.

How to Prevent It?

The prevention of osteoporosis is only possible if you are persistent and determined to make some life-changing decisions that could help you with this.
You should eat calcium-rich food or start using some supplements. Vitamin D can also help you not to get osteoporosis so you should try to increase it as much as you can. Then, alcohol and caffeine should be taken in reasonable amounts and their consumption should be limited since it is proven that they lead to decreasing bone density. Of course, if you are a smoker, you should consider quitting smoking because smokers are more likely to get osteoporosis than non-smokers. And you can strengthen your bones if you are doing some exercises on a daily basis. It is one of the easiest ways to prevent osteoporosis. And above all, regular dental care is something that should be more than obligatory for everyone.
In this way, you will not get yourself into any emergency situations regarding your dental health.