Defects in the jaw bone can be the result of extraction, gum disease and trauma. After tooth loss, jaw bone will diminish in all dimensions during the healing process and bone loss will further worsen throughout the patient's life. A bone graft for dental implants can be done if your jaw bone is too thin or soft to keep the dental implant in place in its current state. If the bone cannot support the implant, it may cause the implant surgery to fail.

The bone can be obtained either from a tissue bank, or a patient's own bone, which is usually taken from another area in the jaw, bone grown by triggering local stem cells to differentiate into bone making cells or a special bone grafting material. You will then have to wait, most likely several months, while the graft creates enough new, strong bone to make sure that the implant will be stable and secure, making your dental implant surgery possible and successful.

The Risks of a Bone Graft

All surgical procedures involve risks of bleeding, infection, and reactions to anesthesia. Bone grafts carry these risks and others, including:

• Pain
• Swelling
• Nerve injury
• Rejection of the bone graft
• Inflammation
• Reabsorption of the graft

Types of Bone Grafting

There are a few different bone and soft tissue grafting treatments available to meet each one of our patient’s needs, including:

Socket preservation

This procedure prevents bone loss and prepares the site for an eventual dental implant by placing bone graft material into the empty socket immediately after a tooth extraction. This helps to minimize bone loss likely to occur after tooth extraction. After the bone graft has been placed in the socket, a collagen membrane will be placed over the bone to separate bone and gum healing. When the grafted site has healed, a dental implant is placed to restore the missing tooth. In some cases Dr. Tebyanian will place the dental implant at the same time the graft is placed, allowing you to enjoy your new smile sooner.

Ridge Augmentation

Ridge augmentation is a technique performed following a tooth extraction to help recreate the natural contour of the gums and jaw that may have been lost due to bone loss as a result of a tooth extraction, or for another reason.

There are multiple different procedures available to restore the height or width of the jaw bone. Depending on the condition of the bone and volume of the bone loss, different techniques may be used to restore the bone volume.

• Particulate bone graft placed over the defect and let 3-5 months of healing prior to implant placement.

• Block of bone can be harvested from other parts of the jaw and fixated with screws to the thin jaw bone (vertically or horizontally), then the site will heal for 3-5 months prior to the implant placement. When large segments need to be optimized, bone can be harvested from the knee, hip or skull bone and this will be done in a hospital setting.

Sinus Lift

Sinus lifts are necessary when the bone in the upper jaw cannot support dental implants. After a tooth has fallen out or been removed, the bone density in that area of the mouth rapidly decreases. This makes it difficult to properly place dental implant posts. In this procedure, the sinus membrane is lifted, and a bone graft is placed below the lifted membrane. The graft will integrate with the bone in the jaw over several months of healing time.

Once the graft has fused with the natural bone, dental implants can be placed with a much higher rate of success. If enough bone between the upper jaw ridge and the bottom of the sinus is available to sufficiently stabilize the implant, sinus augmentations and implant placement can sometimes be performed as a single procedure. If not enough bone is available, the sinus augmentation will have to be performed first, then the graft will have to mature for up to several months, depending upon the type of graft material used. Once the graft has matured, the implants can be placed.