Dental bone grafting is performed by securing graft material to a person’s jaw and allowing his natural bone to fuse with it. The area is numbed with local anesthesia, and the graft material is secured to the jaw with stitches or screws, according to the American Academy of Implant Dentistry.
There are two main types of dental bone grafts, according to Creighton University. Oral surgeons or periodontists can perform extensive bone grafts that require several months to mature before an implant can be placed. The second type can be performed at the same time as the implant but requires the patient to have sufficient natural bone for support. After the procedure, the patient is prescribed antibiotics and pain medication, if needed, and instructed not to stress the area and to avoid certain foods, according to the AAID. Dental bone grafts are outpatient procedures, and the patient can usually return to his daily routines and work immediately.
Material for the graft can come from bone taken directly from the patient, human bone from a tissue bank, animal bone that has been sterilized, or a synthetic mineral bone substitute, according to the Connecticut Maxillofacial Surgeons. The patient’s body slowly replaces the graft material with its own bone material.