When you’re missing permanent teeth, it affects more than just your smile. Tooth loss can cause difficulties eating and speaking and can even take a negative toll on your self-esteem. Worse yet, because those empty spots in your arches no longer have tooth roots to provide important stimulation, the jawbone can begin to deteriorate with time. This can make getting restorations like dentures and dental implants challenging, because they require solid foundation to work properly. If you’ve been missing permanent teeth for a while and aren’t sure if you can still get them due to bone loss, here’s what you need to know about restoring your smile despite jawbone deterioration.