How Does a Dental Bone Graft Work?

[caption id="attachment_847" align="alignright" width="300"] https://walnutcreekdental.net/dental-implants/[/caption] In dental care there is something known as a bone graft. Often the question arises as to what exactly a dental bone graft is and what it does for a dental patient. Here is a brief synopsis of this important and innovative type of dental work that can improve overall dental health for patients of all ages. In short, a dental bone graft is simply a procedure that is used to augment bone that has gone missing because of disease or for some other reason. Good bone mass is important in properly supporting teeth for healthy long-term dental wellness. Bone is often missing in a patient because of reabsorption following the loss of teeth or an individual tooth [1]. Bone grafting is valuable because it ensures a greater amount of volume in the area of bone where a tooth replacement will eventually be placed.

One Common Strategy is to Make Use of The Patient's Own Bone

Bone grafts are largely considered one of the more common types of procedures necessary for successful dental implant placement [2]. It is considered oral surgery and is the starting point for the eventual placement of titanium screws used in the creation of dental implants. Titanium screws used with dental implants require a certain amount of bone density in order to properly support the implant [3]. Bone can be added in one of three ways to ensure proper placement of modern implants. For example, one common strategy is to make use of the patient's own bone. In most cases the patient's own bone will work the best in terms of successful grafting. This is known as an autograft. One technique that is used is where the dentist will actually chip away bone in other areas of the patient's mouth. These bone fragments are then collected and used for eventual bone graft procedures. In other instances, bone can be sourced from the same species.

Bone Derived From a Different Species

For example, bone can be sourced from cadavers for a human-to-human bone transfer. This bone has been carefully sourced, sanitized and properly stored in most cases in a bottle. This is an excellent option for replacing missing bone and has been used for more than two decades. In other situations, bone can be sourced from a different species. Xenografting is a type of procedure that involves grafting with bone derived from a different species. In many cases bovine bone will be used as an adequate material to replace missing bone structure in a human patient. This is frequently a good option for when larger quantities of bone are required. Finally, something known as tissue regeneration can be used successfully. This involves barrier membranes being used to bond with the bone graft site as a way to prevent gum overgrowth. Contact your Walnut Creek dental care provider, Dr. Darvishzadeh today to learn more about the many options available today when it comes to bone grafting procedures.

References: [1] Bone Grafting [2] How Long Does a Dental Implant Placement Take? [3] Dental Implants Can Make All The Difference