Understanding Bone Grafting: What Is It and Why Is It Important?
It is a surgical procedure that restores unhealthy jawbones. Bone grafting involves using transplanted graft material to hold space in the jawbone long enough for the body to repair itself. Once the bone graft is in place or allows the bone tissue to regenerate, restoring the jawbone’s health.
The Bone Grafting Procedure: What to Expect
Bone grafting in Bayside entails finding donor tissues to repair and rebuild the damaged portion of your jawbone. Usually, dentists near you obtain grafts from different parts of your oral cavity or body. If these options are not viable, your dentist will consider a human donor or a synthetic source. The type of graft ultimately influences the success of the procedure.
The surgery entails making an opening in your gums to access the jawbone underneath. The surgeon uses the graft material to create a scaffold for your body to use for bone tissue regeneration. If you get bone grafting immediately after tooth extraction, your dentist may not need to cut open your gums.
Exploring Different Types of Bone Grafts
The type of bone graft you get is specific to YOUR underlying problem and the location of tooth loss. Dentists near you will recommend different bone grafts after a comprehensive dental exam to evaluate your initial oral state. The Types of bone grafts you can explore are:
- Sinus lift procedure – is a bone graft that prevents the sinuses from dropping after you lose the upper back teeth. If it happens, you would not be able to get dental implants as the sinus membrane would be damaged. Therefore, you need a bone graft that lifts the sinuses to the original position before dental implants.
- Block bone grafts – are grafts that go into the lower jaw in preparation for a dental implant. It strengthens the outer wall of bone that faces your cheek, usually when you have lost a large section of bone.
- Socket graft – is also called ridge preservation. It entails placing a graft in the socket immediately after a tooth extraction to fill the void left behind after removing the tooth. The bone graft fills the spaces in the socket to prevent it from carving inwards as it heals.
- A lateral bridge preservation graft – is a bone graft done for patients who have gone a while without teeth. It entails increasing the width and volume of the jawbone to strengthen it before restorative measures like dental implants or dentures.
Reasons You Might Need Bone Grafting
Bone grafting is an incredible procedure that restores bone health after tooth extractions. Some of the reasons you may need a bone graft are:
- For dental implants – patients that need to replace their teeth with dental implants in Bayside sometimes need bone grafting. Usually, if you go without teeth for a long time, the bone tissue disintegrates due to inactivity. As the body reabsorbs the bone tissue, it becomes weak and cannot support dental implants. Therefore, in several cases, bone grafting is a prerequisite to implantation surgeries.
- Dental injuries – a traumatic accident can damage your jaw’s health. A bone grafting procedure can help rebuild your jawbone.
- A severe periodontal disease called periodontitis – can cause premature tooth loss if not well managed. One of the treatment options for periodontitis is bone grafting to restore bone health.
- For dentures – sometimes a dentist near you will recommend bone grafting in preparation for dentures.
Who Should Consider Alternatives to Bone Grafting?
Much as bone grafting procedures restore your jawbone’s health, we do not recommend them for everyone. At Bayside Family Dentistry, bone grafting surgery is ideal for patients that need tooth replacement with dental implants. However, we will discourage you from bone grafting in the following situations:
- An existing oral infection – any oral surgery is at a high risk of bacterial infection before the surgical wound heals. Therefore, you cannot undergo the procedure if you already have an infection.
- Insufficient blood in your body – especially due to underlying disorders like anemia
- Oral cancer or other bone-related chronic issues like arthritis
- Chronic bruxism – especially when aggravated by other health problems like severe anxiety or autism"
