Bone Grafting

Areas of the jawbone that are missing teeth will shrink over time. This is known as “reabsorption.” You may want to replace missing teeth in these areas, but the jawbone quality and quantity may be insufficient to embed a dental implant. Fortunately, your jawbone can be rebuilt through a procedure called “bone grafting.” Bone grafting places natural or artificial bone material that binds with your jawbone over a period of time, either from a tissue bank or from bone in your own jaw, hip, or tibia (below the knee). This not only helps the bone become thick and dense enough to place a dental implant, it also provides a chance to restore functionality and esthetic appearance. Major bone grafts are typically performed to repair defects of the jaw that arise from traumatic injuries, tumor surgery, or congenital defects.

Our oral surgeon will sedate you with one of the following:

• Local Anesthesia: The numbing of your mouth through injection.
• IV Sedation: The administering of mild doses of sedatives through the vein to reduce anxiety, block pain, and put patients into a twilight state.
• General Anesthesia: Ensuring you will sleep soundly throughout the surgery by receiving drugs through a vein then breathing gas through a nasal tube.

Once sedated, the doctor will make an incision in your gums to access the bone. The bone graft material will then be affixed to the bone site. They will stitch the incision shut for quick healing. The stitches should dissolve within a week or two.