Bone Grafting
So you lost your tooth or several teeth and decided that the best solution for replacement will be dental implants because:
- The success rate of implant treatment is approaching 100%
- Implant supported teeth look and feel exactly like your natural teeth
- Implants have potential to last you a lifetime, unlike other dental treatment modalities
But… You have been told that there is just not enough bone to place an adequate implant in your mouth.
There may be a number of reasons for this bone loss:
- If a tooth has been missing for some time, the bone just dissolves away
- If you had an infection around a tooth, the bone will disappear
- If you had traumatic injury the bone may have been lost due to accident
- If you had a difficult and traumatic extraction some bone may have been removed
Bone Grafting Diagram
Whatever the reason, the implant must be placed in bone of adequate width, height and quality for long lasting hassle free restoration. The required Implant dimensions will be determined by your implantologist and must satisfy several criteria, so just using a smaller implant is not an option. In cases like these we simply must grow your jaw bone so a properly sized implant can be placed in safely.
Depending on the amount of bone that needs to be grown several different grafting procedures may be utilised:
- We can use artificially produced bone-like materials to encourage your own bone growth
- We can use human bone in blocks or particles and attach it to your bone so they unite and become a nice implant site
- We can take your own bone elsewhere in your mouth and attach it to the designated implant site.
- We can use some space in your sinuses to grow bone in height in the upper back regions of your mouth.
These bone grafting procedures are well researched and very safe. Admittedly, if you require a bone grafting procedure the treatment becomes a little costlier and the healing period may be extended. However, it is the only proven alternative for implant treatment where jaw bone is of inadquate dimensions.
We look forward to seeing you.
Dr. Maria Avis