Why Bone Graft before Dental Implant Procedure?
Imagine for a moment you are a patient, and your dentist, who is also a specialist in placing dental implants, tells you that before you can receive the dental implants you always wanted, he has to do some bone graft surgery. “Bone Graft”? That’s a scary word, right? It could be enough to send shivers down the spine of some patients.
But, as you will see, it’s not scary at all. Let’s take your potential anxiety away in case you consider dental implants and your dentist tells you that you need a bone graft too.
The question you will ask yourself is, why do I need a bone graft when all I want are dental implants?
It’s a great question. The answer is that not everyone has enough bone to keep a dental implant securely in place.
That prompts another question. Why are there people without enough bone to hold a dental implant? This time the answer is a bit longer. The jawbone has the fantastic ability that it can regenerate itself. But for that to happen, a natural tooth is needed. Every time you bite down, it stimulates the particular area of the jawbone below the tooth.
If a person has lost one or several teeth, nothing can continue to stimulate the areas of the jawbone where the tooth/teeth once have been. What happens is that over time, the amount of bone gets less and, therefore, weaker. Eventually, the bone gets very thin. Too thin that it cannot hold the dental implant securely in position.
We have covered the basics of why a bone graft can become necessary. Now we will go into a little more detail.
How a dental implant needs to sit in the jawbone.
The idea of using a dental implant is that it needs to take over the role of the natural tooth. Just like a natural tooth sits in the jawbone and is anchored by it, the dental implant must do the same. As soon as the implant fuses with the jawbone, it is sufficiently strong to support a dental restoration such as crowns or dentures.
To ensure that the dental implant sits secure and firm in the jawbone, it must be encased by bone on all sides apart from the top. Two things are crucial to know. The dental implant has to “sit” on solid bone. But it must not come too close to the nerves below and must be placed just a touch below the top of the jawbone. You can be assured that Dr. Hedge knows precisely how to do that.
Generally, the bone surrounding the dental implant should have a thickness of 1mm. If Dr. Hedge sees that the thickness of a patient’s bone is less than the required thickness, she has to recommend a bone graft.
The timing of bone graft surgery for dental implants is essential.
Commonly, bone graft surgery happens long before the actual dental implant surgery. Depending on the individual case, it could be weeks or even months before the implant surgery. Why is there a time delay? It gives the donor tissue sufficient time to bond with the jawbone. It is possible that the bone graft and placing of the dental implant are carried out simultaneously. But a dentist would do that if the area they work on is very small. Usually, bone graft surgery and implant placement are done in two separate procedures. The reason is that this minimizes the risk chances of implants failing.
