The trauma of losing a tooth can last long after the accident or illness that causes your tooth to fall out or precipitates removal. The resulting gap in your teeth can cause difficulty eating, increase risk of tooth decay, lead to misalignment of surrounding teeth, and mess with your confidence and your desire to smile.
Luckily, dental implants offer a great solution for many patients. These false teeth look and act like your natural teeth thanks to a titanium post that bonds with the jaw and stabilizes the crown on top. With dental implants, you can eat, drink, smile, brush, and floss just as you normally would. Dental implants restore your oral function, your brilliant smile, and your self-esteem.
However, losing a tooth could cause some damage to your jaw bone, potentially eroding the bone and causing some concern about its ability to support a dental implant. This is not uncommon and it is often rectified by a bone graft. What is bone grafting and what does the process entail?
What is Bone Grafting?
Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that involves taking bone from one area of the body and transplanting it to another area to help heal and repair damaged bone. In some cases, bone grafting material (harvested from animals like cows and then processed) is used so that your own bone need not be harvested from a healthy part of your body. In the case of a bone graft in preparation for dental implant, your own bone or other grafting material is applied to the area of the jaw where the dental implant will be placed.
What Can I Expect?
The severity of bone loss in the jaw will dictate what type of bone graft is needed, but you can generally expect an outpatient surgery at the office of a dentist or specialist. If bone loss is significant, the bone graft is more likely to require your own bone, which is generally taken from your lower jaw in the region where wisdom teeth were removed. After the procedure, you may have to wait several months for the area to fully heal and for the grafted bone to become stable enough to support your dental implant.
Once the bone has fully healed, you should be ready to receive your implant. The process of bone grafting takes time, but it may be the best way to repair bone damaged during tooth loss so that your jaw can support a dental implant and you can restore your smile.
