When we are getting ready to place dental implants, your dentist will make sure your jawbone is ready for the dental surgery. It must be dense enough to bond permanently with the new tooth implant. If it can, you will have a stable new tooth root that can hold a new crown, dental bridge, or implant supported dentures. 

However, some jawbones are too thin or weak due to genetics or jawbone shrinkage. They would be at risk of damage or dental implant failure. To prevent this problem, your family dentist can recommend a bone graft when necessary to first strengthen and thicken your jawbone before placing an implant.

A Bone Graft Procedure

During an affordable dental implants consultation, we may find through three-dimensional dental x-rays that the jawbone is too thin at the tooth implant site. If a bone grafting is necessary, we’ll explain the issue to you, along with your tooth replacement options. Feel free to ask your holistic dentist any questions you have. 

In some cases, we will need to extract a tooth or teeth from the implant area in order to complete the dental bone graft. Then, we will add the new bone or material to the future implant site. Plan for one to two hours. 

Then, we’ll ask you to take a certain amount of time at home to let your jawbone strengthen and thicken, which the graft will stimulate the jaw to do naturally. It may be a few months before you visit us again at your local dentist office in Issaquah.

If you have questions or concerns about this process or your own bone graft recovery, give us a call or set up a consultation today!

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Bone Graft Materials

We can choose from several options for the bone graft material. If you have a preference, we will accommodate you. Materials include: 

• Your own bone, taken from your jaw.
• Donated bone, which is completely cleaned for sanitation and safety.
• Animal bone from compatible species, proven to be accepted by the human body.
• Bone imitations, made of ceramics, polymers, or bioglass. 
• Enhancers such as stem cells for faster growth.
• Alloplastic, made from natural materials.

Every patient is unique, so we can choose between materials to best serve your needs.

If we graft your own bone, we’ll need to perform some additional surgery to extract some of your own jawbone from a safe area. That means two parts of your mouth will be healing at once. Some patients prefer this type of bone graft for implants, as it does not use outside material. But some prefer fewer incisions.

Is a Bone Graft a Bad Sign? 

Are we recommending a bone graft for dental implants because your jawbone has a serious problem? Not at all! It’s actually common that bone grafts are needed, even among younger patients and those who brush and floss regularly. 

Sometimes, just a small amount of gum disease can slightly shrink the jawbone, making it harder to place an implant there. Or if you have lost an adult tooth, it can cause the jawbone to naturally shrink where no tooth needs to be supported.

In fact, a bone graft could be an advantage. When a jawbone starts to shrink because of gum disease or tooth loss, the shape of a face can change too. A bone graft can restore the previous sharpness to your features.

While a bone graft can add a few more months to the tooth implant process, you’ll be pleased with the final results: 

• If you’re getting a single tooth implant, your new tooth will be held very securely by your thicker jawbone. 
• A dental bridge holding multiple teeth will be very stable after a bone graft, because an area of the jawbone covering two or more teeth will be stronger.

In the end, you’ll get to chew normally again, with a complete set of teeth. Your teeth implants might even help you speak better and be excited to smile again.

Call Discovery Dental for Your Implant Consultation

Your dental specialist can help you replace one or more teeth through a simple dental implant process. We’ll prepare you with a 3D scan and a bone graft, when necessary, while keeping you comfortable and safe in our family office. Call Discovery Dental clinic to ask any additional questions and set up your appointment.