Bone grafting is a procedure whereby pieces of bone are used to augment areas of your jawbone that may be lacking in bone tissue.
This is usually an option in situations where you may be interested in getting a dental implant or other similar procedure.
THE NEED FOR BONE GRAFTING
When you lose a tooth-whether due to disease or injury to the tooth itself-one of the results is that your jawbone will begin to be absorbed back into the body. During the first three years after you lose a tooth you can lose as much as 40% of the jawbone in the area; after this, you continue to lose bone-albeit at a much slower pace-for the rest of your life.
This bone loss can present a problem if you are interested in getting a dental implant. A dental implant relies on the use of a metal rod that has been grafted into your jawbone; however, if you do not have an adequate amount of jawbone in which to graft the rod, you may be unable to get the implant.
To address this, we can graft in bone tissue so that your jawbone will be strong enough to accept the dental implant. While this is not an insignificant procedure, success rates are very high, and after getting a bone graft you will almost always be able to have the dental implant put in within a relatively short timeframe.
Getting a bone graft lets you use implants instead of other dental constructions such as dentures. This means you get a more realistic-looking set of teeth. Additionally, using dental implants will keep your face from sagging as is frequently the case with those who wear dentures.
In short, by getting a bone graft you can get the most realistic dental replacements available, and can avoid the need for further intervention down the road.
Please contact us if you have any questions about bone grafting.