5 Things You Need To Know With Bone Graft

If you are missing teeth, you may want a dental implant. Your oral surgeon may recommend bone grafting. Although bone grafting sounds like a drastic procedure, it is a procedure that oral surgeons perform frequently.

With bone grafting, oral surgeons can increase your jaw bone volume. This makes it possible for them to insert a dental implant even if your bone has deteriorated for many years. The following are five things you may be interested in learning about bone grafting.

1. Bone Grafting Is Not Painful

Any procedure that involves your bones can invoke a feeling of terror. Breaking a bone, setting a broken bone, and other procedures are often linked to pain.

When people hear their dentists say that they will need a bone graft, it sounds extreme. However, bone grafts are just the first step that most people will need to go through in order to improve their smile.

Oral surgeons perform bone grafts in their offices every single day. Patients have the procedure and are able to go home and recuperate. We sedate you throughout the entire process. As your body heals, you shouldn’t feel any pain. The great thing is that when the graft is done, you can continue on with your dental implant plan.

2. Bone Grafting Is Highly Successful

As with all things connected to the medical field, technology has improved the effectiveness and success rate for bone grafts. Now, bone grafting is predictable. There is little chance that your bone graft will fail. If there are any complications, it is usually possible to do the procedure again with additional grafting material.

Some people worry that if they get a bone graft, their dental implant will not take. Your implant will last the same amount of time whether the socket is treated with a bone graft or if you do not need a bone graft. The results from this type of procedure are just that good.

3. Your Body Will Eventually Make New Bone

The human body, especially the bones, is a marvelous feat of engineering. When an oral surgeon puts in a bone graft, basically what they are doing is telling your body where the new bone should grow.

A common misconception that people have is that a bone graft takes a donor’s bone and fuses it to your jaw bone. Actually, when your body notices the graft, it starts to slowly replace the graft minerals with natural bone tissue. Of course, this is not a quick process. You should expect it to take up to six months or more for your bone graft to completely mature. However, when it does, it is going to be strong and will support your new implant.

4. Bone Grafting May Not Use Your Bones

There are several techniques used by local dentists to perform bone grafting. The technique they use for you will depend on your circumstances and what you need.

Some oral surgeons use pieces of your chin bone or jaw bone. However, it is more common for oral surgeons to use materials from an outside source. You may be surprised to know that bone graft material can be 100 percent synthetic.

Some material can come from a tissue bank. Other grafting material may come from animals. But you don’t have to worry about the source because all donor bone tissue is processed and sterilized. It is freeze-dried and rendered completely safe before clinical use.

5 You Will Need to Make Some Temporary Changes after a Bone Graft

It is going to take some time for your bone graft to heal. For the first few days after surgery, you may have to change your diet. If you had a lot of bone grafting done, you may be on a liquid diet.

Your doctor may recommend that you change your sleep position so that you can sleep on your back with your head elevated with pillows. You would not want to sleep on the side of your face where the surgery was performed. For a few days after the surgery, you have to reduce physical activity.

Conclusion

Your smile is a wonderful thing. Bone grafting and dental implants can help restore the look and functionality of your teeth and improve your quality of life.