All You Wanted To Know About Bone Grafting And Dental Implants

By Author: Ashley Johnson
Total Articles: 18
Comment this article

Why bone grafting is required in dental implants?

The bone provides the foundation to support the implant. In order to place the implant and keep it firmly in its position, the bone must have the adequate height, width, and positioning.

If the bone is too thin, the implant can’t be placed since it would not be covered by the circumference of the bone. Then if the bone is not of the required height, the implant can get too close to the adjacent structures. It can also cause periodontal issues for the patient and may look quite ugly.

In order to make the bone larger and broader so as to successfully receive the implant, bone grafting is performed prior to placing the implants.

When you approach your dentist for getting the implants, he would examine your jawbone and if it is too short or too narrow, he may advise you to go for bone grafting. Bone grafting will make your jawbone denser and will ensure that your implant surgery turns out to be successful.

How is bone grafting performed?

Bone grafts for teeth implants are made out of your own bone taken from chin or hip bone, ...
... or bone from an animal, or from a cadaver. A man-made substance, such as bone morphogenetic protein is also used in bone grafting for implants. This substance helps stimulate the growth of cells in your body to start production of bone cells.

In the majority of the cases, the dentists who perform the bone grafting for dental implants in Scottsdale take the bone from a patient’s chin. Or they make use of hip bone.

The dentist then gives local anaesthesia to the patient and makes a small cut inside the mouth below the lower teeth. The bone is then inserted through that cut. Titanium screws are used for fixing the bone into the jawbone. It takes about 6-8 months for that area to heal after which the implants are placed. When the dentist is sure that the jawbone is strong enough and has the required width and height so as to hold the implant, he performs the implant surgery.

Bone grafting is very successful. If you use your own bone, there is hardly any chance of rejection or any failure. Patients who smoke, drink, or have certain medical conditions often complain of bone grafting failure; or they simply are not a candidate for the bone grafting surgery to begin with.

Consult a qualified and experienced dentist for dental implants. Do not be scared if you are told that you need bone grafting. It would maximize your chances of success and would let you get the most out of your teeth implants.