Bone Grafting

Did you know that your bone tissue is a living organ and not some inert, dead material in your body? Many of our patients are surprised to discover that their bones are always in a state of growth and development, but on the other end of the spectrum, your bones can also start to shrink and recede. Your teeth serve an important purpose in your mouth, helping you bite, eat, and chew.

However, they also help prevent bone loss in your jaw, keeping your smile and your face looking its best. When we have a patient who may have bone loss for a variety of reasons, we here at Tieken Smiles Dentistry are pleased to offer bone grafting as an option to help you restore your teeth and your smile.

What is Bone Grafting and What Does it Do?

Bone loss after losing a tooth is quite common. It often occurs because the body feels as though there is no need to keep bone matter at the affected site once there is no longer a tooth anchored within it. The bone helps support the tooth, but when the tooth no longer remains, the body will start to reabsorb the bone. This leads to recession of your jawbone, which can lead to future tooth loss and other complications. Missing bone can also hurt your appearance, making your face start to look hollow or sunken and prematurely aged.

Bone grafts are done for a variety of reasons. One of the reasons we may advise a bone graft is when you are considering getting a dental implant. While dental implants are highly beneficial and can give you a permanent restoration to replace your missing tooth, not all of our patients are good candidates for this procedure. This is often due to too much missing bone. However, once we restore their jawbone with the graft, we are often able to move forward with a successful dental implant procedure.

How Does The Process Of A Bone Graft Work

Bone grafts are also good for patients who are at risk of losing more teeth due to bone loss. For instance, if you have already lost a tooth, your body can start to reabsorb the bone material. This can affect the surrounding teeth. We may also advise a bone graft as a preventative measure, such as after a dental extraction. This can help build up the bone in the area of the extraction if you decide you would like to have a dental implant placed in the future.

Before we start your bone graft, we will first work to ensure your comfort by providing you with sedation, typically intravenous (IV) sedation. This will help you remain relaxed throughout the procedure. We will then make a small incision in your gums to access the bone material underneath it. When we perform a bone graft, we often use donor tissue, which can either come from your own body or a sterilized outside donor source. Both methods are highly effective, but many patients prefer the second option since it does not require additional surgery to acquire the donor's bone.

If you would like to learn more about bone grafting, we would be more than happy to discuss it further with you! Please give us here at Tieken Smiles Dentistry a call today at (281) 942-0444 to set up an appointment to learn more about this safe and routine procedure!