When Your Dental Implant Involves A Bone Graft

Dentist Blog

Dental implants provide a permanent and attractive solution for those with missing teeth. Implants consist of the visible part that looks like your natural tooth and the implant that is meant to attach to the bones beneath your teeth. There has to be healthy bone in the jaw so that the implant can be properly secured. There are options, however, for those that lack the necessary bone density. Read on to learn about how bone grafting can be the solution that allows many to take advantage of a dental implant.

Why Some Have Bone Loss

Not only is aging a major contributor to bone loss throughout the body, but missing teeth create losses due to resorption. Once there is no tooth present on top of the jaw bone, the bone can erode and soften. The longer you wait after losing a tooth, the worse the erosion can be. An x-ray of your jaw will provide the dentist with information about the status of your jaw bone structure. Once an implant is in place, your body perceives the implant as if it was a natural tooth, and all bone loss as a result of the missing tooth is discontinued.

What a Bone Graft Is

Bones grafts add more structure to the bones in the jaw so that implants can be safely placed. If the bones are too porous, the implants can loosen and fail. Bone grafts can be thought of as a frame of bone material that is accepted by your body and becomes permanent. There are several choices of grafting materials to choose from.

What Bone Grafting Materials Are Used

Autologous Grafting – Your own jawbone often contains the perfect fix to shore up weak areas. Some (non-visible) bone material from the chin and back jaw areas are removed and placed in the implant site several weeks before the implant is accomplished. Autografts provide your own cells and tissue for grafting and assures better bone support. You should understand that the surgery to remove the bone and then graft it onto the site can be invasive but is not any riskier than any other type of surgery.

Allografts – If surgery and using your own bones are not desired, bone material from others can also be grafted onto your jaw. Donated bone is processed (freeze-dried, demineralized, and sanitized) to form a substance that can be used as a graft. This method has been in use for many years, is safe, and provides an alternative to using your own bone. Some, however, are squeamish about using human bone tissue from donated sources.

Animal Bone Grafts – Donated animal bone material is created from a similar process as an allograft. Healing can take longer using animal bone, however.

To find out more about these choices in grafting materials, speak to your cosmetic dentist.

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28 June 2019

Dentistry for the Whole Family

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