Bone Grafting Prior To Dental Implants Placement

By Author: Henry M Cook
Total Articles: 31
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A bone graft is a surgical procedure which is needed to add to, or change, the structure of the jawbone. This procedure is usually done as part of the preparation for a dental implant treatment, especially in cases when the patient has a thin jawbone. The jawbone needs to have sufficient quality and structure so that the implants will have a stable base, and to prevent difficulties in their actual placement.

Jawbone deterioration or jawbone thinning results after tooth loss; if the tooth loss is not addressed immediately, the jawbone slowly deteriorates and thins with the passage of time. This is because the tooth roots stimulate the jawbone to maintain its good structure; without the presence of the tooth roots (which are lost along with the natural teeth), the jawbone eventually deteriorates and becomes thinner.

As the jawbone becomes thin, the face takes on a shrunken appearance and changes shape. Placement of dental implants also becomes more difficult (or almost impossible) to do, because the implants need to be supported by sufficient bone mass. This is where the bone graft treatment becomes necessary.

Bone ...
... Grafting Material
The material used in a bone graft can come from a number of sources. The most common and considered to be the safest is called the bone autograft – when the graft material comes from the patient’s own body, as there is very small chance of the material being rejected by the body. When the bone graft material comes from another human donor, it is called an allograft.

Synthetic materials such as calcium phosphate can also be used for a bone grafting procedure; with this material, there is a small risk of the body rejecting the material but there is no risk of disease transmission because of the material’s synthetic nature. There are also cases when bone graft material is harvested from an animal donor to stimulate the regeneration of natural bone; however, not many individuals are keen on the idea of placing bone material from an animal into their own body.

Bone Graft with Demineralised Bone
Demineralised bone can be used as a replacement for autografts or allografts for dental bone grafting. The demineralised bone matrix or DBM is processed by extracting collagen, proteins, and other growth factors from allograft bone. DBM can be applied to the jawbone area that needs to be augmented or changed through an injection, taking on the form of crushed granules, gel, putty, powder, or chips.

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