Bone Grafting
Bone loss is unavoidable after losing a tooth. When a tooth is lost, the bone in your jaw no longer receives pressure signals when you bite down. Without these signals, the bone isn’t stimulated to regenerate, leading the body to start resorbing the bone material.
- After losing a tooth, the process of bone loss begins immediately and progresses quickly. Within a year, a patient may lose up to a quarter of the bone width in the area where the tooth was located. The rapid rate of bone loss is one reason it’s crucial to plan for a tooth replacement as soon as possible.
- Fortunately, dental implants can help prevent further bone loss because the titanium root structure reintroduces biting forces to the jawbone. However, if significant bone loss has already occurred, bone grafting may be necessary to build a sufficient foundation for the implant to be secured.
What is Bone Grafting?
Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that replaces bone lost due to the removal or loss of an adult tooth. It is typically performed as a preliminary treatment before dental implants placement.
Although bone grafting is a complex form of oral surgery, it enables more patients with various dental conditions to permanently replace their teeth. In the past, patients who had lost significant bone due to missing teeth were often deemed ineligible for dental implants and had to resort to less ideal solutions like bridge or dentures. Fortunately, advances in dental technology and techniques have made bone grafting a common procedure, allowing many patients to achieve beautiful and functional smiles.
Procedure Overview
- The specifics of a bone grafting procedure vary based on the patient’s unique circumstances. Factors influencing the approach include the location of the bone graft and the amount of time since the tooth was removed. In some cases, bone grafting can be performed immediately after tooth extraction if needed.
- Think of a graft as a patch that fills in for missing material. In dental bone grafting, the materials used can be the patient’s own bone, donor bone from another person, animal bone, or a synthetic material. The grafting material is not intended to permanently fill the gap but to provide a foundation that encourages the patient’s bone to regrow into that space.
- At the beginning of the procedure, an incision is made in the gums to expose the bone. The bone surface is then prepared, and the graft material is placed. If your own bone is used, it is typically harvested from another part of the jawbone, often from the area near the wisdom teeth. Finally, the bone graft is covered with a collagen membrane, and the gums are sutured closed with small stitches.
- Patients typically report minimal discomfort after bone grafting. Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory painkillers, such as ibuprofen (Advil®), are usually sufficient to manage pain during recovery. Depending on your health condition, we may also prescribe antibiotics to prevent infection. After the procedure, we will monitor the healing and bone regeneration process, which may take several months before it is sufficient to support an implant.