Dental Bone Grafting

Dental bone grafting is a surgical procedure used to repair or rebuild bones through the transplantation of bone tissue. This procedure allows your dentist to recreate bone and supporting tissue that are missing, typically to support dental implants.

Dental Bone Grafting in High Point, NC

There are several different kinds of bone grafting depending on your situation.

Socket Preservation – the same time that the tooth is taken out is the most predictable, easiest, and most efficient time to bone graft the site. This allows the body to refill the empty socket with new bone in preparation for a dental implant. Without socket preservation, studies show that the bone begins to decrease in height and width almost immediately.
Ridge Augmentation – if you have been missing a tooth or teeth for a while and there is not enough bone available to put an implant in, we can rebuild the jawbone in the area, either horizontally or vertically, with a ridge augmentation procedure.
Sinus Augmentation – In the area of the upper back teeth, the sinus cavity is located just above the roots, or sometimes between the roots of the upper teeth. When those teeth have been missing, the sinus floor tends to drift down and take away the bone that is used to support the teeth. When placing implants in this area, it sometimes requires a sinus augmentation procedure. This is a very predictable method of bone grafting where we move the floor of the sinus back up and rebuild bone in the area to create a foundation for dental implants.

illustration of bone graft in a tooth socket

What is a dental bone graft?

Dental bone grafting is a minorly invasive surgical procedure that helps grow new bone that was destroyed or replace the unhealthy or missing bone with new bone.

The graft may be taken from another area of the body or created through synthetic or other materials. It usually consists of processed bone minerals that help your body create new bone cells over time.
Are dental bone grafts painful?

Dental bone grafts are usually an outpatient procedure, and patients are usually sedated through the process. The procedure is typically done before or sometimes along with a dental implant/tooth replacement and doesn’t cause any pain during the procedure and minimal discomfort during the healing process.
How long does it take to recover from a dental bone graft?

A dental bone graft is usually the first step to dental implants. Immediate post-op recovery usually is 4-7 days depending on your case. Once the dental bone graft is complete, your dentist must wait for the new bone to fuse with the natural bones in your mouth before they can complete the implant process. This timeframe is different for everyone but normally takes 4 months on average for your bone cells to make firm enough bone to put an implant into.