One of the consequences of missing teeth or gaps in your teeth is that your jawbone will erode. A weak or shrinking jawbone will not support a dental implant and you will not be able to maintain your jaw structure and good oral health. A bone graft will create a solid base for a dental implant. This procedure involves removing a piece of bone from another part of your body or someone else and transplanting it into your jaw bone.
How A Bone Graft Works
Bone grafting will replace a bone and allows for new bone growth in your jaw. Since it is considered surgery, bone grafts require local anesthesia. The bone graft will be implanted and then it will take some time for it to fuse ti your existing bones. Once it has done this, the dentist will be able to place your implant. It can take several months for the bones to fuse together but this is natural and your dentist will continue to check in on you to ensure the bones are fusing successfully.
There are three different types of bone grafts that you can choose from:
Autografts or autogenous bone grafts are made from a bone from another part of your body like your chin, part of your jaw, your hip or your rib. Autogenous bone grafts use live bones and live bones promote bone growth, which is good for a strong jaw. However, autogenous bone grafts require two procedures, one to take the bone from the other part of your body and one to will implant the bone.
Allogenic bone graft uses a bone taken from a cadaver that is cleaned and processed before implanted. Similar to allogenic, xenogeneic bone graft involves using a bone that is taken from a non-human species, like a cow. The bone is cleaned and processed. Both allogenic and xenogeneic bone grafts do not produce new bone growth. Instead, these bones act as a framework and your dentist will use synthetic materials to stimulate bone growth. The benefit to allogenic or xenogeneic bone grafts is that they do not require a second procedure.
You can also choose to use synthetic materials instead of using a real bone for your graft. Dr. Michael Yu Yeh at Federal Way Dental Excellence Center will support you through every step of the bone graft process.