What is a bone graft?
A bone graft is a procedure your oral surgeon performs to strengthen or augment your bone tissue. It involves using a grafting material to stimulate bone production or provide a structure for new bone to grow around.
The team at Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Associates and Advanced Dental Implants perform a few types of bone graft procedures, including:
- Sinus lift
- Nerve repositioning
- Ridge augmentation
- Socket preservation
A bone graft can significantly improve your oral health and make you a better candidate for dental implants.
What is a bone graft made from?
There are a variety of materials your oral surgeon can use for your bone graft. An autogenous graft uses tissue from your own bone, typically your chin, jaw, lower leg bone, hip, or skull.
If you don’t want to harvest your own tissue, you can use donor tissue, either from a cadaver or from another species, usually a cow. There are also a variety of synthetic substances that work for bone grafts, like demineralized bone matrix (DBM), demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft (DFDBA), and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs).
Your surgeon works with you to determine which type of grafting material is best for your particular needs.
What causes bone loss?
Most often, bone loss in your jaw happens as a result of under-stimulation. Just like your muscles, your bone tissue needs exercise to maintain its strength. In the case of your bone tissue, that exercise comes from stimulation to your chewing surfaces.
If you’re missing a tooth (from an extraction, infection, or physical trauma, for example), your jawbone doesn’t receive that stimulation. As a result, the bone tissue begins to deteriorate, or resorb.
Several dental conditions can also lead to bone loss in your jaw, including:
- Periodontal disease
- Misalignment
- Osteomyelitis (a bacterial infection in your bone)
- Tumors
- Congenital disabilities
Patients with dentures or bridges are also at risk for developing bone loss, since those restorations are unanchored and rest above the gumline.
What are the effects of bone loss?
Bone loss in your jaw can impair your oral health in several ways, including:
- Pain in your jaw or TMJ
- Facial pain and headaches
- Misalignment or drifting of your teeth
- Loose teeth and tooth loss
- Impaired facial appearance and lip support
- Difficulty properly eating and speaking
- Wrinkling of the skin around your mouth
- Sinus expansion
Bone loss can also make it difficult to place dental implants. Because dental implants anchor into your jawbone, they need substantial tissue for proper support. If you don’t have enough bone tissue in your jaw, you might not be a candidate for dental implants.
To learn more about how a bone graft can improve your oral health, schedule a visit to Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Associates and Advanced Dental Implants today by calling the office or booking online.
