What to expect from bone grafting for dental implants

Dental implants are fantastic and safe long-term solutions when someone in good overall health loses a tooth due to gum disease, an acute injury, or an oral infection. They do not require the upkeep that dentures require and provide a patient with aesthetically pleasing results. Because of their high success rate (98%) and their popularity in the world of dentistry, dental implants are becoming one of the most common procedures that those with tooth loss seek.

What Are Dental Implants?

A dental implant is the closest a person can get to having a natural tooth. Meant to mimic the root of a tooth, a dental implant uses a screw to act as a tooth’s “root.” This screw is inserted into the jawbone (much like a tooth’s root connects to the jawbone). Then, once the bone has fused with the screw, a crown (an artificial and custom-made tooth) is applied to the implant.

Many factors contribute to whether someone is eligible for a dental implant. Overall health, for example, is crucial as smokers, excessive consumers of alcohol, those with periodontal disease, or those with diabetes usually do not respond well to dental implants.

Another cause of concern for many is bone density. For the dental implant to fuse with a patient’s jawbone, an adequate level of bone density is needed to ensure a successful outcome. Fortunately, bone grafting is an option for those lacking the bone density required for dental implants.

Bone Grafting: What Is It?

Bone grafting is a procedure that is meant for those who do not have enough bone for a dental implant. Usually, deterioration of bone occurs after a traumatic injury or when a tooth has been left to rot and decay. Bone crafts create a solid and secure base for dental implants.

Bone Grafting: The Procedure

Dental implants rarely occur in one procedure; they usually take place over a certain number of stages. First, if you have a damaged tooth that needs to be removed, it will be extracted. Then, your periodontal surgeon will prepare your jawbone for a surgical procedure. This is usually when bone grafting takes place.

To provide a future implant with a solid base, the bone will be taken from either another part of the jaw, from another part of the body, from a cadaver, or from an animal source (if you have ethical reasons for preferring one over the other, these preferences should be discussed with your surgeon ahead of time). The latter two options have proven to be just as successful as the former and help the patient avoid a second surgical site.

Once the bone has been obtained, this piece of bone will then be placed into the patient’s jawbone. Then, the waiting begins. It will take several months for the new bone to grow enough to support an implant. Once the jawbone has healed, and the bone has sufficiently grown, the implant will be placed into the jaw.

Again, this may require several months of healing time. After the area is fully healed, an extension of the implant is placed into the jaw; this extension is what the crown will attach to. Once the extension area heals, a crown is placed on the implant.

Bone Grafting: After

Bone grafts are time-consuming. However, they provide those without the bone density required to receive an implant. Healing is usually accompanied by discomfort like gum swelling, bruising, or bleeding, and patients are instructed to eat only soft foods while their mouths heal.

Because bone grafting requires an additional surgical step, you must seek a board-certified specialist in periodontology and dental implant surgery to ensure that you experience optimal results and no complications.

If you have been told that you are not eligible for a dental implant because you lack the bone required for a successful implant, consider seeking an oral surgeon with experience in bone grafting. Because it is a complicated procedure, many dentists may not offer it in-house; however, this does not necessarily mean that your lack of bone density diminishes your candidacy for a dental implant.