What You Need To Know About A Dental Bone Graft?

If you have a missing gap between teeth due to tooth loss, you might have heard the dentist in Houston talk about dental implant surgery. For a dental implant surgery to be successful, you need to have enough bone tissue where the dentist can attach the implant. What happens when you have insufficient bone in your jaw? This is where dental bone grafting comes in.

A dental bone graft is usually recommended before a dental implant or when the dentist determines that the bone loss is negatively affecting your neighboring teeth. So, what is a bone graft procedure, and how does it work? Keep reading to find out more.

What Is Bone Grafting?

A bone graft is a surgery that rebuilds or repairs through the transplantation of bone tissue. The transplanted tissue should be healthy so that your body can recreate the healthy bone where it is missing.

Therefore, a dental bone graft is a surgery to increase bone tissue in your jaw. The surgery is carried out where there has been significant bone loss, or additional support of the existing bone tissue is needed.

The bone transplanted is taken from another place and fused to the existing bone in the jaw surgically.

Now that you know what dental bone grafting is, who is a good candidate for a dental bone graft?

Gum Disease or Tooth Loss

When you have a missing gap due to tooth loss, the existing bone tissue begins to go through atrophy. Atrophy begins as the bone (alveolar bone) work is to hold and support your tooth. So, if there is no tooth, there is no work.

Moreover, when gum disease is not treated early, it can lead to tooth loss. So, when you go to a dentist, they recommend going for bone grafting in Houston, TX, to hinder bone loss.

Dental Implants for Missing Teeth

One way of fixing missing teeth is through dental implant surgery. However, the surgery is invasive as the dental implant is screwed in place in your jawbone. If you have insufficient bone tissue, the dentist will advise looking for an oral surgeon who performs bone grafting near you.

The bone grafting surgery will ensure that the dental implant has a strong anchor ensuring the success of the implant.

Bone Loss

You can be a good candidate for a bone graft if bone loss affects your facial appearance. Losing lots of bone mass in your jaw can make your face look smaller than it was. Moreover, when you don’t have enough bone mass in your jaw, your facial muscles and lips become altered.

Problems that can lead to bone loss include poor oral hygiene, injury to your jaw, and infections.

How Does Bone Grafting Work?

When you look for a dentist who performs bone grafting near you, they will inform you of several types of bone graft procedures. Each type of bone graft depends on the location of the lost tooth and the extent of bone loss.

Socket Grafting

Socket graft is the most known bone graft procedure. The main goal of this type of graft is to prevent the loss of the alveolar bone: which holds your teeth in place. The bone is taken from a human donor and placed into the socket. Then, you can go for a dental implant procedure after 4-6 months.

The benefit of socket graft surgery is that it reduces the pain you would experience after a dental implant procedure.

Block Bone Grafting

Another type of dental bone graft is the block bone graft. This type of procedure is suitable if there are large defects in your jawbone. The surgery is done by taking a small block of bone from the back of your jaw.

Next, the dentist places the block of bone into the defect and is attached through titanium screws.

Lateral Ridge Preservation Graft

A lateral ridge preservation graft is done to lengthen the width of your jawbone for sufficient space for a dental implant. A human donor bone is used for this surgery.

Once the bone graft is in place, your body does the repair work. So, if you have a missing gap in your teeth, head to Mi Casa Dental, and we will perform dental bone grafting to prevent bone loss and restore your healthy smile.