Bone Grafts

Bone augmentation therapy (that have been dubbed, somewhat erroneously as bone grafts) are a complex series of treatments. These treatments are aimed at augmenting the bone material and making it fit to support and house a dental implant. There are many different kinds of bone grafts, but all of them have the same goal: to make your jaw capable of receiving a dental implant and thus restore proper chewing function.

How it works

Bone grafts are needed when the bone material is lost from the jaw bone, or if the bone itself is not dense enough to house a dental implant. Artificial bone grafting material that binds to the bone and augments it is inserted into the quadrant that needs to be filled up. Usually bone loss is due to losing a tooth, as the alveolar ridge will disintegrate and be reabsorbed into the body if it is not housing a tooth root. A jaw bone of this sort is not capable of safely housing a dental implant, and needs to be artificially enhanced to make sure that supplying it with a dental implant is safe.

The procedure

This is a one-step surgical procedure. The inserting of the graft material directly to the bone requires invasive oral surgery, but is incredibly safe, and is considered a routine surgery. The procedure takes around 45 to 90 minutes, and is done in the dental practice itself; it does not require hospital monitoring, and can be done by dental implantologists or oral surgeons. It also does not require being put under, although some patients opt to be asleep during the procedure. Usually the dental implant is placed in with the bone graft material right then, so as to save the patient one more invasive oral surgical procedure.

Who can get one?

Anybody who is eligible. Most people are eligible, as this procedure is done to augment a lack in the bone structure. The usual deficiencies, problems and medical conditions that prevent any sort of surgical procedure also prevent this one. People whose bone material is compromised because of some sort of problem or medical condition are also not eligible, as there is no way to guarantee that the bone graft will be successful in these cases.