How Serious Is A Jaw Bone Infection?

The jaws are a set of bones that hold your teeth, consisting of two parts. The upper part of the jaw, known as the maxilla, doesn’t move; however, it shapes the floor of the nasal cavity, allowing normal airflow.

The moveable lower part is the mandible which holds the tongue’s bottom row of teeth and gives shape to the lower face and chin. Together, the jaws affect chewing, speaking, and the working of the jaw joint. They also hold and support soft tissues and play a significant role in the appearance and shape of the face.

However, the jaws might develop infections that may go on for years damaging your overall health without causing pain or discomfort.

What Is Jawbone Infection?

An example of a hidden jawbone infection is an ischemic bone disease. Ischemic bone disease is a chronic disease of restricted blood supply and infected holes in the jawbone that occur when the tooth socket’s lining remains after tooth extraction.

Tooth extraction is a dental procedure carried out to extract damaged teeth to prevent them from causing more damage to the mouth.

However, complications such as a jawbone infection might arise after a tooth extraction or oral surgery. Also known as jawbone osteonecrosis (bone death in the jaw), the ischemic bone disease causes lesions known as cavitation.

Causes Of Jawbone Infections

The primary cause of the ischemic bone disease is complications arising from a tooth extraction procedure or oral surgery. The periodontal ligament is a layer of connective tissue that connects the tooth and the jawbone.

Typically, after a tooth extraction procedure, a dentist near you scrapes away the infected soft tissues at the end of the tooth root.

However, many dentists leave pieces of supporting tissues, ligaments, and part of the bony socket, which may retain bacteria and toxins behind.

When the periodontal ligament remains after a tooth extraction procedure, the body responds as though the tooth were still there. The ligament does not break down in the healing process; therefore, a thin layer of bone and healthy new tissue may grow over the socket.

Lack of blood supply causes the tissues below to die and rot, damaging the bone and surrounding tissues even more. The ligament, bacteria, and toxins residing in the unfilled socket may pose a severe threat to your immune system.

At Julian Centre For Comprehensive Dentistry, we carry out additional surgical procedures after tooth extractions to remove the periodontal ligament and infected bone.

While this surgical procedure prevents you from developing ischemic bone disease, it ensures a quicker and more comfortable healing process.

Other factors that may influence the development of jaw infections include:

• Use of tobacco and nicotine that obstructs bone healing.
• Use of antibiotics and corticosteroids before and after tooth extraction.
• Heredity or acquired clotting disorders.
• Excessive use of Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
• Presence of heavy metals like copper, mercury, silver, and iron.
• Trauma from dental surgery.
• Radiation and chemotherapy.

Symptoms Of Jawbone Infections

The following are possible signs of a jawbone infection:

• Pain in the mouth or jaw.
• Jaw stiffness.
• Facial swelling.
• Redness and tenderness.

Treatment Of Jawbone Infections

If jawbone infections are left untreated, they lead to inflammatory diseases, autoimmune conditions, and general health problems such as ALS, cancer, chronic fatigue, Alzheimer’s, etc.

Therefore you should get hidden jaw infections treatment in Ellicott city at the slightest threat of jaw infections.

Existing ischemic bone disease is treated through a particular surgical procedure. It involves cleaning the socket that contains the residual ligament and infected tissue. Natural disinfectants kill bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other residual microorganisms.

In addition, the affected area is treated with a low-level laser. That increases blood flow, reduces inflammation, and stimulates the healing process. The healing process of jawbone infections might take a while.