For many patients, dental implants can provide a highly successful method for replacing missing teeth. One key ingredient for healthy dental implants is sufficient bone structure, and there are a few steps your dentist can take to preserve or regrow bone tissue for dental implant support. Keep reading to learn more about how bone can be saved to ensure dental implants stay strong and stable in the smile.
Missing Teeth Cause Bone Loss
When you have lost a tooth, you have lost more than the visible part that helps you to properly eat, speak, and smile. You are also missing the supportive root structure, which encourages the flow of blood that brings nutrients to the jaw bone. Resorption, or bone loss, occurs when blood flow slows down. This degeneration process must be halted quickly in order for dental implants to work.
Bone Grafts Can Help
For many patients, this side effect of missing teeth can be mitigated with a bone graft. This is a process through which your dentist or oral surgeon adds healthy donor bone tissue to the area where it is lacking. The donor tissue can be taken from elsewhere in the mouth, from another part of the body, or from a cadaver/cow’s bone.
The type of bone graft you receive will depend on where tooth loss has occurred. A sinus lift, for example, is a special type of bone graft which involves adding extra bone tissue to the sinus to replace one or more of the upper molars.
How Bone Grafts Work
Your dentist or oral surgeon will use anesthesia to keep you comfortable throughout the procedure. To perform the bone graft, your dentist or oral surgeon will follow your particular treatment plan. In general, healthy tissue and/or growth factors will be placed into the area where it has been lost.
Most patients will need to heal for a few months after the bone graft has been performed before the dental implant can be placed. Other times, the dental implant can be inserted immediately after the bone graft procedure.
Follow all post-operative instructions after the procedure is complete to ensure a speedy recovery, including getting plenty of rest and relaxation. Come back to the dentist for your follow-up appointment as recommended.
To conclude, bone grafts are a wonderful way to regrow bone after tooth loss — and they can help you enjoy all the benefits of dental implants.
Meet the Practice
Canatella Dental offers excellent dental care to help patients regain their healthy and complete smiles, even after significant tooth loss. If you or a loved one are struggling due to missing or failing teeth, do not hesitate to give this practice a shout. They can be reached by phone at (504) 282-0700.