Understanding the importance of bone grafting is vital if you are contemplating dental implants. This treatment is necessary if your jawbone lacks the required density to support dental implants. It ensures that the foundation for the replacements is enduring and secure. Bone grafting makes your jawbone strong, particularly in situations where bone loss has occurred because of various reasons. Bone loss can result from tooth loss, injury, or periodontal disease. You can significantly improve your chances of a successful dental implant outcome by enhancing the existing bone structure. Seek the services of a skilled dentist if you require a bone grafting procedure.
Bone Grafting Explained
Bone grafting is a specialized surgical process that dentists use to regenerate, rebuild, or repair missing or damaged bone. Dental experts often perform this procedure in orthopedics, periodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and dental implant treatment. This can be done if the existing bone is not enough to enhance recovery and normal function. Bone grafting enables the body to naturally form new bone tissue. It does this by providing a framework that encourages bone-producing cells to multiply and integrate with surrounding tissue. Your dentist can book you for this procedure if you have periodontal disease, bone infections, congenital defects, traumatic injuries, or tooth loss that has caused bone deterioration.
Bone grafting is usually used to restore the jawbone before putting in dental implants. This ensures there is sufficient bone density and volume to securely hold the implant. Bone grafts can also be used to treat fractures that do not heal well in orthopedic medicine. They also play a major role in spinal conditions requiring fusion and in bone defects caused by injury or disease. Your dentist can extract graft materials from your body, depending on your needs. Some of the grafts can also come from animals, a human donor, or synthetic biomaterials designed to trigger bone regeneration.
Technologies in regenerative medicine and biomaterials have played a major role in the success of bone grafting. This has led to better integration, faster healing, and improved long-term outcomes. Bone grafting is a highly effective and safe treatment when properly planned, performed, and followed with post-operative care. It restores bone structure, enhances function, and improves your quality of life.
The Procedure Of Bone Grafting
Bone grafting often follows the following steps:
- The dentist puts the patient under anesthesia
- The affected area is cleaned
- An incision is made in the gum to separate it from the bone where the graft is to be put.
- The bone material is placed between two sections of bone that need to grow together.
- The dentist secures the graft with a dissolvable adhesive material
- The incision is sewn up to start healing
Types Of Bone Grafts
There are different types of bone graft materials, and the right choice depends on your needs and treatment goals. They include:
Autografts
An autograft uses bone from other parts of the body, often the tibia, hip, chin, or jaw. Autografts are considered the standard bone grafting since they contain living bone cells that enhance natural healing. They also have less risk of rejection because the material comes from the patient’s own body.
You may experience additional discomfort or a longer recovery period because the bone is extracted from another surgical site. However, these materials are usually highly effective for complicated implant cases or larger grafting surgeries.
Allografts
An allograft uses bone extracted from another person. The dentist will carefully process and sterilize the material to ensure safety. Some of the benefits of allografts include reduced procedure time, no need for a second surgical site, and their popularity and high success rate in most dental procedures.
Allografts provide an excellent framework for new bone growth, even if they do not contain living cells. Most people prefer this treatment because the dentist does not extract bone from your own body.
Synthetic Bone Grafts
Also known as alloplasts, synthetic grafts are made from biocompatible materials like bioactive glass or calcium phosphate. Some advantages of alloplasts include reduced risk of disease transmission, no donor tissue required, and suitability for most moderate and minor grafting procedures. Advancements in dental technology have significantly improved synthetic materials. These materials provide predictable and excellent healing results.
Xenografts
Xenografts are extracted from various species, especially pigs and cows. The dentist will process and sterilize to remove all organic components and living cells, leaving a mineral scaffold that is safe and biocompatible for human use. This is done to minimize the risks of disease transmission and immune reactions. These materials are popularly used in dental surgery and orthopedics to regenerate or repair bone defects. Xenografts integrate slowly with the patient’s bone, but most of these materials resorb more slowly than other graft materials. Some of the advantages of xenografts include:
- Offers better structural support for bone regeneration
- They have a record of successful clinical use in dentistry and orthopedic surgery
- No need to extract bone from the patient, avoiding a second surgical site
- They are common and available in large quantities
They also have some disadvantages, which include:
- The use of xenografts can have ethical, cultural, or religious concerns
- They do not have living bone-forming cells or sufficient osteoinductive proteins
- The slow resorption can cause a small amount of graft material to remain in the bone for a long time
- Unlike autografts, xenografts often heal at a slow rate
Common Types Of Bone Grafting Procedures
There are several types of bone grafting procedures commonly performed in oral surgery, as well as different graft materials. They include:
Socket Preservation Bone Graft
A socket-preservation bone graft is often performed at the same visit as tooth removal. The dentist places the bone graft material directly into the socket where the tooth’s roots were after removing the tooth. Your dentist can secure the bone graft material from different sources. Some materials can contain demineralized animal bone, while others are completely synthetic. These animal products do not contain organic matter; they consist only of bony granules.
Bone graft materials are usually small white particles. They provide a matrix in the empty socket where natural bone can regenerate and heal. The purpose of this material is to encourage the body’s bone to fill in the holes left after the tooth removal.
The work of the jawbone is to hold teeth. The bone naturally shrinks in both height and width when the tooth is removed. It can be challenging to replace a missing tooth with a dental implant later because of this shrinkage. A socket preservation bone graft prevents the shrinking and maintains the natural height and width of the jawbone where the tooth was extracted. This procedure is simple and can be completed immediately after the tooth is removed. No second surgery needed. Your dentist only places the material into the socket, covers it with a collagen plug or membrane, and puts stitches to anchor everything while it heals. Socket preservation bone grafts are also inexpensive because they can be placed immediately after tooth removal.
Sinus Lift
The sinus lift bone graft procedure is performed as follows:
Lateral Window or Traditional Approach
A lateral window is a popular, painless procedure used to replace upper back teeth. Maxillary sinuses are found on top of the upper teeth and behind the cheeks and are often empty. Some roots of the upper teeth go into the maxillary sinuses. There is usually a thin wall of bone separating the mouth and maxillary sinus when these upper teeth are removed. Dental implants require bone to anchor them. It is hard to place dental implants in this bone when the sinus wall is thin. The remedy for this is a sinus lift. The dentist will enter the sinus through the area where the upper teeth used to be. He/she will lift the sinus membrane and insert about a teaspoon of bone into the sinus. In most situations, the dentist can place implants at the same time. The bone becomes part of your jaw and teeth after several months of healing and can support dental implants.
Sinus grafting makes most patients eligible for dental implants. Sinus augmentations and implant placement can be performed as one procedure. This can happen if enough bone between the upper jaw ridge and the bottom of the sinus is available to adequately stabilize the implant. The dentist will perform a sinus bone graft first if the bone is very thin. The graft will mature in a few months, depending on the material used. Your dentist will then place the implants once the graft has matured.
Internal Sinus Lift Procedure
Your dentist can recommend an internal sinus lift procedure if you have minimal bone loss in the upper back tooth area. The sinus bone is raised during this minimally invasive procedure. This can be done through the implant site at the same time the implant is placed.
The dentist can also lift the sinus bone at the time of removal of an upper molar in anticipation of a future implant. Your dentist can also add bone replacement materials through the tiny implant socket.
Candidates For A Dental Bone Graft
The following are some of the common reasons why you might require a dental bone graft:
Bone Loss
You could be the best candidate for dental bone grafts if your appearance has been affected by bone loss. Your face can appear shorter if you lose bone mass in the jaw. The patient’s lower jaw may appear to protrude if it loses bone mass. Your lips and the muscles around them can change appearance when the underlying bone structure is not healthy. You will also have more wrinkled skin in the jaw area. Older people are at risk of jawbone loss. You might also need a bone graft if you have suffered an injury to the jaw or experienced problems related to poor dental hygiene or other health issues.
Tooth Loss or Gum Disease
You can require bone grafting even if you are not receiving an implant. The dentist can perform this to support a section of the jaw that has lost bone because of gum disease or tooth loss. Bone loss can affect the nearby gum tissue and teeth. Further bone loss and long-term health complications can be prevented by stabilizing the jaw with a bone graft. You can suffer further tooth loss and even heart disease if the gum disease is not managed effectively.
Implants For Missing Teeth
You could be eligible for bone grafts if you are going to receive implants in place of missing teeth. Dental implants are artificial roots that appear like screws and are placed in the jawbone. The dentist then places a crown on the implant that matches the surrounding teeth. Bone grafting plays a major role in providing a strong and sufficient base for an implant.
Whether A Dental Bone Graft Is Painful
A bone graft that does not involve extracting bone material from your body is a relatively minor procedure. The dentist will sedate you during the procedure, preventing pain until the anesthesia wears off. You can address the pain using over-the-counter pain relievers. Prescription-strength pain medications can also be used. You can experience some discomfort for several weeks during healing, depending on the surgery.
The healing can be more painful if bone material is taken from your body, as the procedure is performed in two sites. However, the period of discomfort will be short because the amount of bone extracted and then grafted is often small.
The Cost Of Bone Grafting
The cost of dental bone grafting is not defined and can vary significantly depending on several factors. The factors determining the cost include the complexity of the surgery and the material used. The cost can range from $400 to $1,200, depending on whether the bone graft material is cadaver, animal, or synthetic. You could incur $2,000 or more if the bone material is extracted from your own body.
Most insurance providers, including Medicare, do not cover dental bone grafting in many situations. Your insurance company can cover part of the surgery if your doctor establishes that the surgery is medically necessary. The insurance might not cover you if the bone grafting is for cosmetic reasons.
Find an Experienced Lakewood Dentist Near Me
You might have sufficient jawbone density if you plan to obtain dental implants. If your jawbone has deteriorated over time, you could be a candidate for bone grafting. The Lakewood Dentist has experienced dentists who can determine whether you are a candidate for dental implants and whether you require bone grafting. Call us today at 562-423-1441 to talk to one of our dentists.