Redondo & Manhattan Beach: 310-375-0514 | In many cases, bone grafting is necessary to achieve optimal functional and aesthetic results with dental implant treatment, particularly with implants placed in the front of the mouth.
Foundation for Dental Implants
Many times, due to progressive disease, infection or trauma, bone and soft tissue are lost in areas around the teeth. In addition, when teeth are removed and not replaced with dental implants, the bone that supported these teeth resorbs, or deteriorates.
When it is not possible to place dental implants as a result of insufficient bone to provide the solid foundation necessary, a graft using bone from another area of the mouth, or synthetic bone, can be placed to improve the site for implant placement. This bone augmentation procedure can often be accomplished at the same time as implant placement so that no additional surgical procedures are necessary.
Improving Anterior Aesthetics
When the bone is thin, such as the bone beneath the gum tissue above the upper front teeth, it resorbs, or deteriorates, much quicker, leading to a visible defect. When multiple anterior teeth are missing, the bone resorption eventually leads to collapse of the lip, which affects the facial profile.
Long-term scientific and clinical studies by the leaders in implant dentistry show that, in most cases, aesthetics in the front of the mouth can be greatly enhanced with bone grafting. For patients who have lost bone, it is possible to increase or replace the bone with grafting techniques and successfully place implants. In addition, the defects in the bone can be corrected to create favorable facial contours and tissue support in order to achieve optimal aesthetic results.
Preserving Bone Following Surgical Tooth Removal
When patients are facing impending tooth loss, our oral surgeons can surgically remove the tooth using a special technique that minimizes discomfort and promotes rapid healing. This technique also preserves the bone surrounding the tooth, which is critical for implant placement.
The socket that remains when a tooth is removed is sometimes grafted to facilitate healing and preserve a significant amount of gum tissue that would normally shrink during the healing period if the socket were allowed to collapse.
Sinus Graft To Replace Bone in the Upper Jaw
When teeth in the back of the upper jaw have been missing for a long time and the bone resorbs, or deteriorates, the sinuses drop down into the space where the tooth roots were located. Since there must be adequate bone for dental implants to be stable, it is often necessary to add bone in these areas.
In these cases, a special bone grafting procedure is performed, which involves gently lifting the floor of the sinus to create space to pack bone grafting material for implant placement. If there is sufficient bone between the edge of the jaw and the bottom of the implant, the sinus graft/lift can sometimes be performed at the same time as implant placement.