A bone graft is a procedure that is performed to replace and regenerate lost bone. It is used to increase the amount of bone in the part of the jaw where the bone is lost, or the area needs added support for dental procedures to be performed successfully. A Delaware periodontist will make an incision on your gums to expose the jawbone and strategically place a bone graft where needed. The most common approach for dental bone grafting is to use the patients own bone from the back of the jaw. This is known as an autograft. Autografts are generally the best option for dental bone grafting as they provide adequate support and, at the same time, promotes faster healing and new bone formation. However, sometimes this may not be a feasible approach, so your periodontist in Wilmington will use a human bone that is processed to mineral power and is then processed in tissue banks where it undergoes various processes to ensure the highest safety standards. This is done to prevent the transmission of any diseases from the donor to the recipient.
Why may you need a dental bone graft?
For Dental Implants
If you are scheduled to receive a dental implant in Wilmington, you may need a bone graft. To place a dental implant successfully, a specific bone height and width is required. If you do not have adequate bone support in the area where a dental implant is to be placed, your periodontist in Delaware will carry a bone grafting procedure to regenerate the lost bone in that area.
For Gum Disease Treatment
Gum diseases like periodontitis destroy the bone, which causes the teeth in that area to become loose. In such a case, bone grafting replaces the lost bone and provides support to the teeth. This helps stabilize the teeth and prevent long term health complications.
Ridge preservation
If you need to undergo a tooth extraction, your dentist will make sure it is done in a way that preserves as much of your underlying jawbone as possible. However, in many tooth removal cases, it is not always possible to preserve a lot of bone. This can cause significant degeneration of the surrounding bone, and the bone in that area begins to undergo the process of resorption with time. Although this is a natural process, it is an undesirable one. To minimize this bone loss and prevent bone shrinking, your periodontist in Wilmington will place a bone graft over the extraction socket immediately after tooth removal. This is a painless procedure and is done to prevent the need for major bone grafting procedures later on. This is a comprehensive and elegant way to improve aesthetics and avoid shrinkage of the bone post extractions. This helps to build a stable foundation for placing dental implants and other tooth replacement alternatives.
To minimize the rapid shrinking of bone, a bone graft can be placed in the socket at the time of tooth removal. It is a procedure called ridge preservation. It is usually painless and bone graft can often prevent the need for major bone grafting later on. Check our before and after pictures.
Bone graft with implant placement
When an implant is placed the same day that the tooth is extracted, the gap between the socket wall of the tooth and the implant should be filled with a bone graft. This improves the esthetics and prevents the shrinkade of the bone after extractions.
Sinus augmentation via vertical approach
The upper back jaw (molar and premolar area) has traditionally been one of the most difficult areas to successfully place dental implants due to poorer quality of the bone that grows in this area as well as the close proximity of the maxillary sinus, an airfilled space within the upper (maxillary) jawbone.
When at least 5 mm of jawbone is present below the base of the sinus cavity, a sinus elevation via vertical approach can be performed. To perform this procedure, a set of drills that can cut the bone at the base of the sinus but not penetrate through the skin-like sinus membrane are used. Once the sinus membrane has been exposed, it can be further elevated with the introduction of a bone graft. Once sufficient bone height has been established, the implant can be placed during the same surgery. A crestal sinus elevation procedure can usually be performed when only a few millimeters of additional bone height need to be regenerated.
