Bone Grafting
Restore Your Facial Appearance Now!
It is common to experience bone loss around the teeth as a result of progressive disease, infection or trauma. However, bone loss can limit our ability to restore your smile using methods like dental implants or implant supported dentures.
We offer bone augmentation and bone grafting procedures to replace lost bone. Bone grafting can also restore the proper facial contours where bone is missing in the font of the mouth.
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Bone Loss Occurs Immediately After Tooth Loss
A dental bone graft is a procedure used to restore bone density in the jaw. Bone loss is common in patients who have been missing teeth for some time. After a tooth is lost, the bone in the area around the missing tooth begins to deteriorate. In some cases, the bone may have deteriorated too much for dental implants to be placed.
Bone Grafting
Dr. Ryan Estes, Dr. Allison Marlow and Dr. Vidya Prabhu offers bone grafting in Florence and Highland Heights, KY, making it possible for many patients to receive dental implants who otherwise may not be eligible. There are three main types of bone grafts used to augment bone in the jaw, all of which are effective and offered by Dr. Ryan Estes, Dr. Allison Marlow and Dr. Vidya Prabhu.
The three types of dental bone grafting procedures offered are autogenous, allograft, and xenograft.
An autogenous bone graft is a procedure using bone taken from the patient. Bone is removed from one area of the body, usually the chin or another nonessential area, and placed in the site that needs to be augmented. The likelihood of infection and rejection are much lower than other types of bone grafts because the bone comes from the patient and still has active cellular material.
An allograft uses cadaver bone sourced from a bone bank. The material used is carefully screened and is considered very safe. The advantage to this procedure is that a second surgical site is not required.
A xenograft uses bone from nonhuman sources. Typically, the bone is taken from a bovine, or cow, source and also does not require a second surgical site for the patient.
The procedure requires Dr. Ryan Estes, Dr. Allison Marlow and Dr. Vidya Prabhu to make an incision where the bone will be augmented. In the case of an autogenous graft, a second incision is made where the bone will be extracted. The extra bone material is then placed in the area needing augmentation along with marrow and possibly bone grafting material to ensure fusion between the new bone and the existing bone. The incision is then closed with stitches.
Dr. Ryan Estes, Dr. Allison Marlow and Dr. Vidya Prabhu will give you a soft food diet to follow, antibiotics, and possibly pain medication during the healing process. The healing process usually takes six to nine months. After completely healing, Dr. Ryan Estes, Dr. Allison Marlow and Dr. Vidya Prabhu can place your dental implants.
Do not let diminished bone density keep you from the benefits of dental implants. Call Dr. Ryan Estes, Dr. Allison Marlow and Dr. Vidya Prabhu today to schedule your examination for a dental bone graft in Florence and Highland Heights, KY!
Socket Grafting
When a tooth is removed, the volume of bone will reduce quickly. To prevent this from happening, a bone graft will be placed at the time of tooth removal.
A bone graft will rebuild the jaw bone in the area to be treated and will provide a strong foundation for a future implant. If bone grafting is not performed, this can lead to poor implant placement in the wrong position which can lead to aesthetic and/or functional complications in the future.
A bone graft may take up to 3-6 months of healing depending on how much bone grafting is needed.
The Procedure
Socket grafting is performed the day the tooth is removed. Upon tooth removal, the space or ‘socket’ where the tooth was removed is filled with bone graft material. A protective barrier called a ‘membrane’ is placed over the bone graft to protect it as it grows into your own bone. Sutures or stitches are placed to secure this membrane. Typically the sutures and membrane may stay in place up to 6 weeks before removal. At the end of the 3-6 month healing period, the bone graft will turn into your own bone and will be ready to have an implant placed.
The Benefits
Ridge preservation can essentially minimize the amount of bone loss that occurs after the removal of one or more teeth. Leaving the socket empty after an extraction is likely to lead to deteriorating bone in the jaw, making it more difficult to place an implant later. This procedure is designed to prevent the collapsing of bone and soft tissue in the sockets.
Other benefits of ridge preservation:
- Minimally invasive with minimal discomfort
- Prepares the site for future placement of a dental implant or other tooth replacement, reducing the need for additional grafting
- Maintains the esthetics of the ridge, especially for the front of the mouth
- Preserves a natural looking smile
Ridge Augmentation
Ridge augmentation is a common procedure performed to help recreate the natural contour of the gums. Often, after a tooth is removed, the bone in the jaw will begin to deteriorate and recede. The height and width of the socket, which was supported by the tooth, will begin to shrink after the tooth is removed. Many patients will eventually develop an indentation in the gums where the tooth used to be as a result of tooth and bone loss.
Restoring the natural contour of the gums is not usually medically necessary. It is often recommended when a large depression or cleft exists in the gum tissues, which can trap food and bacteria. Ridge augmentation is frequently performed for aesthetic reasons, as the ridge is a very important structure in the mouth.
Another purpose of ridge augmentation is to increase the amount of gum tissue in areas of deficit for tooth replacement, so that the teeth appear to rise from the gum tissues. This procedure may be necessary in order to place a dental implant. If the bone tissue has deteriorated too much, placing a dental implant may not be possible without an additional procedure.
The Procedure
There are two types of ridge augmentation procedures: soft tissue and hard tissue. Occasionally, both types of ridge augmentation are performed at once.
- Soft tissue augmentation is usually done to improve the esthetics of the site. Prior to the procedure, the area will be numbed. An incision is made to expose the site and a soft tissue graft is then obtained either from the palate (roof of the mouth) or another source. The graft is then placed into the area in need and secured with sutures.
- Hard tissue augmentation is performed to recreate adequate bone contouring prior to dental implants or other tooth replacement procedures. Prior to the procedure, the area will be numbed. An incision is made and the gum lifted away to expose the bony defect. A bone graft obtained either from another site within the mouth or a donor source is placed in the area receiving the graft. The site is then closed with sutures.
- Healing time varies by patient and the size of the area repaired, but generally lasts between four and six months.
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