Dental Implant and Bone Loss

[Cathryne]

Hello,
     I am in my early twenties and recently had  my upper left premolar extracted and replaced with an implant. I know that bone loss can occur when a tooth is extracted, and the implant is supposed to prevent such bone loss from occurring, but will there be any bone loss at all? I am really concerned because I am so young and don't want my facial appearance to change. Thank you so much.

[Cathryne]

Thanks for the response! I take excellent care of my teeth now, but a root canal in my late teens that wasn't performed properly made it necessary for my new dentists to extract the tooth. The idea of losing my tooth was emotional enough for me, but the bone loss thing really had me scared. My dentist (whom I trust) also told me there shouldn't be much, if any, bone loss, but I still wanted to hear it from someone else for my own peace of mind. I feel a lot better about it now. Thanks again!

[StratRebel]

You are correct, the whole reason for implants is to prevent bone loss.  A well placed implant will prevent all by the slightest of bone loss, and this loss is only perceptable when comparing before and after xrays.  You will never notice any difference, I would not worry about it.