Read below to learn more about our Bone Grafting Procedures here in Wilkes-Barre, PA…
Bone loss occurs in the jaw bone when one or more teeth have been lost due to decay, or trauma. Without a tooth in place to stimulate the jaw bone, the bone around the missing tooth will begin to degenerate. If left untreated, the jaw bone may deteriorate to such an extent that there may not be enough bone to place dental implants. In cases like this, your dentist may recommend having a bone grafting procedure by a specialist.
Bone grafting is the replacement or augmentation of missing bone around the teeth and in areas where teeth have been lost. In many cases it is recommended prior to certain treatments, such as a dental implant procedure.
Bone grafting can be broken down into three types of procedures: allograft, autogenous, and xenograft.
Allografts use human bone transplanted to the area where the bone loss has occurred. With this procedure, the bone is taken from an external source and usually comes from cadaver bone donated to bone banks. All allograft bone material goes through a screening process and is considered very safe.
Autogenous grafts take bone from one area of the patient’s body and transplant it to the treatment area. The bone is usually taken from nonessential bones such as the chin area. The benefit of an autogenous bone graft is that the bone used comes from the patient and reduces the likelihood of rejection and infection. The bone also has active cellular material, aiding in the structure and healing of the treatment area.
Xenografts replace bone in the affected area, although the bone comes from a non-human source. Routinely the non-human source is bovine, or cow.
Allografts and Xenografts are frequently used because they do not require a second surgical site to harvest bone and ample amounts of bone can be easily attained. Xenografts are preferred when extra bone is needed to proceed with a dental implant procedure.