Bone Grafting
Whittier, CA
Tooth loss is a serious issue that significantly impacts your oral health and your quality of life. Whether you lose one tooth or many teeth, basic functions like eating and speaking become much more difficult. Your smile may be impacted, which can cause your confidence to plummet. Underneath the gums, something else begins to happen. Without your teeth, the jawbone begins to lose mass and grow weak. Dental implants are an incredibly popular, highly successful treatment for restoring all of the functions of your missing teeth. However, they rely on your jawbone for stability. If you have lost too much bone mass to support dental implant posts, Simon K. Choyee, DDS, Inc. can help make implants possible with bone grafting.
Bone Loss and Dental Implants
Your teeth play many important roles in your mouth. One of these roles is helping to maintain the health and strength of your jawbone. Your teeth can do this through stimulation. Every time you chew, your teeth stimulate your jawbone, which triggers the body to send nutrients. Following tooth loss, your jawbone loses stimulation. Because of this, your body sends fewer nutrients. Over time, the bone loses mass and grows weak. While dental implants help to restore stimulation to the jaw, they need sufficient bone mass for stability. If you have lost too much bone mass before implant placement, your bone may not be able to fuse properly to the posts, which can then result in instability and implant failure.
What is Bone Grafting?
Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that is performed to restore strength to your jawbone following bone loss. The procedure involves harvesting donor tissue from another area of your body, or from a bone tissue donor, and transplanting the tissue to the weak areas of your jaw. As you heal, your existing bone fuses too, or around, the graft material, restoring strength to your jaw.
There are a few different types of bone grafts that may be performed. During your initial consultation, we perform a thorough oral exam and go over your medical history. This enables us to determine the best type of graft to meet your needs.
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Autograft. An autograft uses bone harvested from another area of your own body. Using your own tissue eliminates the risk of rejection or disease transmission.
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Allograft. An allograft uses human tissue from a compatible donor. The tissue is screened prior to use to reduce the risk for complications. The biggest benefit to this graft is that you do not need an additional surgical site to harvest tissue.
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Xenograft. A xenograft uses bone tissue from a non-human source, typically a cow. The bone is processed at high temperatures to reduce the risk for complications. It is also commonly used when larger amounts of bone are needed. Again, no additional surgical sites are required.
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Alloplast. An alloplast is a type of graft that involves the use of synthetic grafting materials, such as demineralized bone matrix and bone morphogenic protein. |
How is Bone Grafting Done?
Bone grafting requires surgery, which is done under a local anesthetic and sedation. We first make incisions in your gums to expose the bone underneath. Next, the harvested tissue, whether it is from your own body, from a donor, or from an alternate source, is placed into the weak areas of your jaw. Finally, your gums are sutured closed. Once you have fully healed from surgery, the dental implant process can begin.
If you have been told that your jawbone is too weak to support dental implants, this does not mean that you are automatically disqualified from receiving this incredible treatment. A bone graft restores strength to your jaw, providing it with the mass it needs to hold dental implant posts securely in place. For more information, and to schedule your consultation, call Simon K. Choyee, DDS, Inc. today at (562) 947-4781. |
