The jawbones are essential for supporting your teeth, whether they are your natural teeth or dental implants. Age, periodontal disease, osteoporosis, tooth loss and many other factors can impact the density of your jawbones. If you have bone loss in your jaw, it may not be strong enough to support your smile. Our dental experts at Southern Oaks Family Dental Care offer bone grafting oral surgery that can restore bone in your jaw for improved oral function.
What Is Bone Grafting?
When more bone is needed in your jaw to support your teeth or for upcoming dental implants, bone grafting may be recommended. This is an oral surgery that can introduce more bone material into your jawbone. During the procedure, a small incision is made in the gum tissue above the area needing more bone density. A hole is drilled into the bone and grafting material is added to stimulate more bone growth. The material is typically bone harvested from another area on the body of the patient.
Why Perform Bone Grafting?
The most common reason patients undergo bone grafting surgery is to become better candidates for dental implants. Patients who have lost multiple teeth often have gum disease that has reduced their bone density, or bone loss from limited stimulation after tooth loss. Bone grafting performed before dental implants can increase the thickness of bone, which can increase the success of dental implant surgery down the road.
The bone grafting procedure can be performed after an extraction to increase bone before the dental implant surgery to replace the tooth. Most patients will need to wait 4-6 months after the bone grafting surgery before a dental implant can be placed. However, each patient’s circumstances is different. Our dentist can discuss how bone grafting can benefit your oral health and when you can follow the procedure with dental implants.
Advanced dental technology has increased options for those with bone and tooth loss. If you have diminished bone in your jaw, it no longer needs to exclude you from the benefits of dental implants. Our dental team at Southern Oaks Family Dental Care offers cutting-edge procedures to restore your smile, including bone grafting and dental implant surgery. Contact us at our dental center in Baton Rouge, LA, to schedule your restoration dental appointment.
