Bone Grafting
Charlotte, NC
Bone grafting is one of the most common procedures performed by our oral surgeons, and is an essential step in many corrective and restorative treatments. Greater Charlotte Oral and Facial Surgery offers a number of different bone graft procedures and materials to meet all of your needs.
What is Bone Grafting?
Bone grafting is where we add, or “graft,” new bone mass. This is often done because a patient has lost enough bone volume that it has begun to visibly and prematurely age their face as their features collapse in on themselves due to a lack of supporting bone. Sometimes this can happen simply due to the aging process, but bone loss can be accelerated when a tooth is lost and not replaced, as the underlying bone is not being stimulated and so shrinks in response.
What Types of Bone Grafts are Available to You?
We offer you a number of different types of bone grafts and materials to fit every oral health need and budget. Socket grafts are one of the more common types of bone grafts and are usually performed following the removal of a tooth. This simple type of graft helps prevent bone loss that can cause premature aging and can help improve your candidacy for a dental implant later on to permanently put a stop to bone loss. When you do lose bone, whether due to age or the loss of a tooth that did not receive a socket graft, a type of graft known as a sinus lift can “lift” the membrane of your sinuses so one of our oral surgeons can augment your upper jaw with new bone mass.
Regardless of the particular type of bone graft being performed, the graft material has to come from somewhere. For many grafts, we actually take the material from your own body. This can extend the duration of treatment though as it requires another oral surgery. If time is a factor, we might instead take the bone from an animal, from another person, or manufacture completely artificial bone.
Socket Preservation
In this procedure, small oral bone grafts are placed to fill an empty tooth socket after a tooth has been lost or extracted. The placement of this bone graft is fairly simple and usually does not involve an extensive recovery period. The bone graft combines with your natural bone for several weeks after the procedure and will provide a strong anchor for a replacement dental implant.
Sinus Lift Procedure
Everyone has maxillary sinuses behind their cheeks and above their upper teeth. These sinuses have nothing in them, and unfortunately, the bone that separates the mouth from the sinus cavity is usually very thin. It is often extremely difficult to replace a lost tooth in the upper jaw with dental implants because there is not enough bone present. To solve this problem, the surgical team at Greater Charlotte Oral and Facial Surgery can perform a sinus lift procedure in which the oral surgeon enters into the sinus cavity and lifts up the sinus membrane. A bone graft is placed below the membrane, which will integrate with the bone in the jaw over several months. Once the graft has fused, dental implants can be placed.
Ridge Expansion
A ridge expansion, a more complex form of bone grafting, may be necessary when the alveolar ridge bone, a special type of bone surrounding and supporting teeth, begins to deteriorate or lose density due to natural breakdown. During ridge expansion, performed to widen or heighten the jaw to increase the bone density and have implants placed, the bony ridge of the jaw is split surgically and bone graft material is inserted into the space made.
Nerve Repositioning
In some cases, the inferior alveolar nerve, which runs along the lower jaw bone and gives sensation to the lower lip and chin, must be repositioned in order for dental implants to be placed. This is an issue only if the implant will be placed in the area of the back two molars or second premolar. During this procedure, a section of the lower jaw bone is removed to expose the nerve and slightly move it aside. Once the dental implant is placed, the nerve is released to its original position, and a bone graft is placed to refill the jaw area removed. As this is a very aggressive approach, other surgical options are often considered prior to taking this route.
Is Bone Grafting Right for You?
Many of the patients that can benefit from bone grafting have lost a tooth. Bone grafting can not only replace bone mass that diminished after the loss of the tooth, improving your ability to eat and talk, but can also help prepare you for dental implant placement. Dental implants are the only way to permanently stop bone loss.
What to Expect When Getting a Bone Graft
Getting a bone graft is typically a pretty quick procedure that only takes a couple of hours or less. The initial recovery process is pretty quick, but it will take several months to completely heal because the graft has to stimulate the growth of brand-new bone. During this period, we will probably ask you to come back in so we can monitor the new bone growth.
Call Now!
Interested in learning more about how a bone graft can restore your youth or make you an ideal candidate for a dental implant? Then call now at (980) 332-7990 to find out how Greater Charlotte Oral and Facial Surgery can help you!
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