Your dentist may recommend bone grafting if you have missing teeth or jawbone resorption due to gum disease. Dr. Eliaz Kaufman and the dentistry professionals at East Village Dental Center offer effective and safe treatments to restore oral health. Grafting stimulates the regrowth of bone tissue after bone resorption.
What is a dental bone graft?
Bone grafting is a process that adds volume to areas of the jaw affected by bone loss. Grafting involves augmenting the jawbone using organic or synthetic material.
Your specialist may source the material from parts of your body like the hip, tibia, or jaw. The material serves as a scaffold where new bone tissue can grow.
When is a bone graft necessary?
Tooth loss is one of the leading reasons why your dentist may recommend a bone graft. The jaw tends to resorb when you have one or more missing teeth. Bone resorption reduces the density of the jawbone supporting surrounding teeth.
Therefore, bone grafting prevents further tooth loss by stopping bone depletion. It increases the width and volume of the jawbone to allow tooth implants to replace missing teeth.
After tooth extraction, the walls of the tooth’s socket could cave in. Your dental specialist may use bone material for grafting to preserve the socket. Socket preservation prevents the spread of infection to gum, bone tissue, and nearby teeth.
Bone grafting is also necessary for people with bone resorption due to gum disease. The thin bone can loosen teeth and cause tooth loss. Grafting adds bone volume around the socket to stabilize the tooth.
Bone loss tends to alter the structure of the jaw and face. It can affect the lower jaw, making your face look short. People with severe bone deterioration may look older.
Grafting boosts jawbone width and volume to enhance the appearance of the jawline. It could inspire confidence in patients who have experienced severe bone deterioration due to injuries or periodontal disease.
Bone grafting procedure
Bone grafting is an outpatient procedure performed under anesthesia. A review of medication and history will determine if it is the ideal treatment for you. Some drugs, like blood thinners, could cause bleeding complications.
Your dental specialist will make minute incisions on your gum to create room for grafting. The grafting material is placed on the space and affixed with a dental adhesive. The gum is sewn to secure the wound during recovery.
Healing and recovery
The incisions are relatively small for most bone grafting treatments. The procedure is painless, but you may experience sores or pain when the sedation wears off. Your dental specialist can prescribe medication to manage the discomfort.
Your specialist may also recommend taking soft foods the first few days after the procedure. Hard and crunchy foods such as nuts and candy can cause bleeding.
You may experience some mild aches during the first seven days. It could take several weeks before grafting restores bone volume and density. Your dentist will schedule follow-up visits to check your recovery progress.
Contact East Village Dental Center to book a bone grafting consultation today.
