What Is A Bone Graft?
A dental bone graft becomes necessary when needing to add density and volume to areas in your jaw where bone loss has occurred. Once the bone graft has been placed, your own body will do the repair work. Essentially the bone graft is like a scaffold for your own bone tissue to grow and regenerate.
Patients experiencing bone loss usally need a bone graft. This procedure is best recommended if you are having a tooth extracted, plan to replace a missing tooth with a dental implant, have to rebuild bone prior to getting dentures or have areas of bone loss due to gum (periodontal) disease.
How Is A Bone Graft Performed?
Our dentist will perform an oral exam to check the health of your teeth, jaw and gums. Dental X-rays will be taken to check for any possible bone loss. Our dental team will discuss your treatment options and create a plan that meets your needs.
Our dental team will first numb the area of treatment with a local anesthetic and then create a small incision in your gums. Gum tissue will be slightly moved back si the jawbone becomes visible. After exposure, proper cleaning of the area, our dentist will add in the bone grafting material to repair the affected area. After a membrane material is placed for additional protection and the gum tissue is repositioned and closed with stitches.
What Happens After A Bone Graft?
Recovery from a dental bone graft, you may experience minor pain, swelling and bruising. These side effects are completely normal and diminish in a few days. Our dental team may prescribe you antibiotics as well to relinquish any pain.
Dental bone grafts have a very high success rate. You will feel back to normal within a few days up to a week and healing time can take anywhere from three to six months, in some cases even longer. Our dental team will monitor your healing progress and will let you know when you are ready for implant placement if that is your treatment plan.