Bone Grafting

Prosthodontics

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Bone Grafting for Dental Implants

A Comprehensive Guide

Losing a tooth not only affects your appearance but can also have long-term implications for your jawbone’s health and volume. Dental implants have transformed the way we replace missing teeth. However, an essential factor in their success is the presence of adequate bone volume. For patients lacking sufficient bone mass, bone grafting becomes an invaluable step. At our clinic, we employ advanced bone grafting techniques to ensure the longevity and success of dental implants.

Understanding Bone Grafting:

Bone grafting or bone augmentation is a procedure to enhance the volume or density of the jawbone to ensure the stable placement of dental implants. This process can involve:

Autogenous Bone

This is bone harvested from the patient's body, often from areas like the chin or the posterior part of the lower jaw.

Allogenic Bone

Natural replacement material sourced from a donor.

Xenogenic Bone

Synthetic or animal-derived bone substitutes.

Blended Approaches

Combining a patient's bone with natural or artificial resources.

Why Bone Grafting?

After tooth loss, the jawbone starts to resorb or shrink. If a significant amount of time has passed since a tooth was lost, this loss of bone volume can be substantial. Patients needing dental implants, but lacking the necessary bone mass, need bone grafting to create a sturdy foundation for the implant.

Who Needs Bone Grafting?

Patients who are:

Recommended for dental implants.
In good general and oral health.
Having less than 2mm of bone around the proposed dental implant site.

The Procedure:

Consultation

A thorough assessment, including X-rays or 3D scans, is conducted to ascertain the amount of bone loss and the type of bone grafting required.

Bone Harvesting (if needed)

If autogenous bone is being used, a secondary site (like the chin) is chosen and bone is harvested.

Site Preparation

The implant site is accessed, and any damaged or non-viable bone is carefully removed.

Graft Placement

The chosen bone graft material is placed meticulously. If a blended approach is chosen, the materials are mixed and placed accordingly.

Protection

A membrane might be placed over the graft to protect it and encourage regeneration. The site is then sutured closed.

Healing

The graft will slowly integrate with your jawbone. This process can take several months, depending on the grafting type and individual healing capacity.

Dental Implant Placement

Once the grafted bone has integrated and offers solid support, dental implants can be placed.

What if Extensive Bone Grafting is Needed?

In rare cases, if comprehensive bone augmentation from the pelvis is suggested, this procedure isn’t conducted under standard sedation at our clinic. But rest assured, with our extensive range of procedures, almost all bone grafting needs are met with high success rates.