Dental bone grafting can be thought of as the setting of the table. It’s not as glamorous as the meal itself, but it’s something that must be done if your bone volume calls for it.
As a result, not many people seek dental bone grafting without first wanting to undergo an additional procedure like a dental implant. It is usually during pre-surgery x-rays that patients who are looking for a dental implant or something more discover that they actually need a dental bone grafting first.
The Dental Bone Grafting Procedure
The tooth has been extracted and all granulation and inflamed tissue is debrided from the tooth socket.
Extraction site is filled with bone grafting material.
The extraction site filled with the grafting material is covered by a GBR membrane.
The surrounding gum tissue is protected by sutures for adequate healing.
For this reason, dental bone grafting is something not widely considered or researched on behalf of the patient when they are considering dental implants. Thus, you may be unfamiliar with the specifics of the dental bone grafting procedure that a cosmetic dentist in Los Angeles can provide.
So, first things first, what is dental bone grafting ?
Gum disease, trauma, tooth extraction, and/or infection can all lead to loss of bone volume, a collapse of the bone, and a sunken appearance along the jaw and cheeks. Not only that, but without strong bone support, any type of tooth implant would be without a strong foundation necessary to keep the tooth in place over an extended period of time.
To remedy the situation, the foundation needs to be rebuilt; establishing a stable and durable base on which a dental implant can securely sit.
This is done by transferring bone to the area of your jaw in which bone is lacking, and can be accomplished through one of three types of grafting procedures:
- Autogenous bone grafting, which involves taking bone from your oral cavity or elsewhere in your body for use in your jaw.
- An Allograft, which is performed with synthetic bone or that of a cadaver, both of which can be used to fuse the jaw.
- A Xenograft, which be performed using treated and sterilized animal bone to make up for lost jaw.
From there, the dental bone grafting procedure is fairly straightforward, involving the bone being grafted to the treatment site, and then covered by a biologically compatible membrane to protect against oral tissues; thus promoting natural growth of new bone in the end.
While the dental bone grafting procedure takes place over a period of four to six months, this “setting of the table” is a necessary action to ensure the long term success of any dental implant that is to take place down the road.
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