If you’re suffering from a lack of integrity or loss of jawbone, you might benefit from a bone grafting procedure. Bone grafting can be a helpful procedure for restoring lost teeth, especially if you’re considering dental implant surgery. If you’ve lost bone to gum disease or are planning a dental implant, your dentist might recommend grafting. Please contact us at Southern Colorado Periodontics & Implants (SoCO Perio) to schedule a consultation with Justin Tullis, MD, DDS, to learn if bone grafting is right for you. His medical peers recognize Dr. Tullis as a “Top Doc” in Colorado Springs, CO.

Call to schedule your gum grafting appointment at SoCO Perio today:

(719) 475-9023

What is bone grafting?

Bone grafting is a process that involves fixing damaged bone by adding new tissue. The human skeletal system can repair fractures, but it doesn’t replace bone lost to disease or atrophy on its own. The only way to restore this lost bone is by adding new material.

There are several ways to add new material to the bone. Some treatments harvest a sliver of bone from another part of the patient’s own body. Others use sterilized donor material from a cadaver or animals. Over time, the healing bone replaces the graft that was used as a scaffold. This results in a larger, stronger section of bone.

Why do some dental implants require bone grafting?

If you need an implant, it’s essential to ensure the underlying jawbone is in good condition. The best implant surgeons determine where the future tooth needs to go and then plan the ideal implant position backward from there. This approach gives the best long-term success for implants. Sometimes there is not enough bone to put the implant in the ideal position. Without enough bone to cover the implant, it will become infected by dental plaque and eventually fail.

Any time your dentist sees you don’t have enough jawbone to hold an implant, they might suggest a graft. Several factors can necessitate a graft before your implant. Some common reasons include:

Chronic infection from gum disease
Missing tooth for several years
Osteoporosis
Misfitting dentures
Dental abscesses
Age

How effective is bone grafting?

Bone grafting is generally safe and effective, with a high success rate on the first attempt. Occasionally, the body dissolves the graft, or it becomes infected and requires revision. Research indicates that implants placed in a bone graft have a similar high survival rate to that of native bone.

Reference: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The effectiveness of a bone graft will depend on the type of graft you pick.

Grafts from your own bone: These are the most biocompatible, but they can dissolve the most quickly. These used to require a trip to the hospital to borrow a piece of bone from the hip or skull, but nowadays, a small amount of bone can be harvested from within the mouth and combined with donor bone.
Grafts from a donor bone: This is the most commonly used bone graft in the USA. The big perk of this option is that your doctor doesn’t harvest bone from you at a second surgical site.
Animal graft: If the idea of using bone from a cadaver bothers you, you can get a graft from an animal bone. Animal grafts do not turn over as well into living bone, but they can safely add volume and are often combined with some of your own bone.
Synthetic graft: These grafts are the least successful and are not used very commonly.

A man happy with his gum grafting results in Colorado Springs

What you can expect

A bone graft procedure usually follows these steps:

Your doctor will give you local anesthesia and possibly sedation to relax you if you are nervous.
The gums are carefully opened to access the bone.
The bone graft will be covered with a membrane and may be held in place with a few stitches or tiny screws.
The periodontist will close up the surgical sites.
For the next few days, rest, eat soft foods, take anti-inflammatory medications, an antibiotic, and apply ice packs as needed.
You will use a prescription disinfectant mouth rinse for 2 weeks until all stitches are removed
Your jaw will feel normal after about a month.
In a few months, the new bone will be strong enough for an implant.

Why see a periodontist?

The periodontist has completed at least three years of additional residency training beyond dental school to specialize in grafting bone and soft tissues around the teeth. The periodontist has expertise in the biology of wound healing, in saving natural teeth, and in placing dental implants.

A study in the Journal of the American Dental Association reported that the highest success rate for dental implants was achieved when specialists performed the placement. Specifically, the highest success rate was by periodontists, among all types of dentists.

Reference: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

If you have tooth loss, don’t let jawbone damage stop you from getting treatment. SoCO Perio in Colorado Springs is happy to assist you with bone grafting. Our dedicated and experienced team is here to assist you at every step, from selecting your grafting material to fitting the final implant. Contact us today to schedule a consultation appointment.