Bone Grafting
Bone Grafting Strengthens Your Oral Health & Helps Prevent Further Problems

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

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

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

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.

Before
After
Before
After
Procedure

Local anesthesia is used to numb the area where the bone will be removed as well as the location where the bone will be augmented. An incision will be made in the gums around where the bone will be augmented. This is done so that the doctor can see exactly how much bone will be needed before harvesting it from the patient if an autogenous graft is being performed.

The doctor will then make a cut in the gums below the lower front teeth in order to expose the chin bone. Your doctor will then remove a part of the bone along with any bone marrow. The incision will then be closed with stitches.

The bone removed from the chin will be fastened in place to the jaw bone with small titanium screws. The doctor will place a mixture of your bone marrow and some bone grafting material around the bone graft to help speed healing. The incision will be closed with stitches. Any planned dental implant procedures will not take place until your treatment area has completely healed.

After the procedure, the patient will be asked to follow a restricted diet of soft foods such as pastas, mashed potatoes, and applesauce for a short time following your bone grafting procedure. Pain medication will also be provided if needed by the patient. It can take about six to nine months following the bone graft before your doctor will be able to perform your dental implant procedure.

If you are having a dental implant procedure to replace damaged or missing teeth, a bone graft is sometimes required to provide enough support. Call your doctor today to schedule your consultation.

Would you like to discuss your options regarding a Bone Grafting procedure? Call us today to schedule a consult with Dr. Bonacci!