Is Bone Grafting Right for You? Exploring Your Treatment Options

Before dental implant replacement, some individuals may require a bone graft to build a stable foundation for the implant.

Understanding bone grafting can help determine if this procedure is necessary.

What Is Bone Grafting?

A bone graft is a procedure that reconstructs deteriorating bones through bone transplants.

It allows dentists to create strong, healthy bone in areas where a tooth has been lost, preventing the jawbone from deteriorating and allowing dental implants to replace the missing tooth.

When Is It Necessary?

A dental bone graft is necessary when a tooth has been missing, and the jaw area has not been properly stimulated, causing a decrease in bone density.

Severe gum disease can also cause bone loss, requiring grafting to stimulate bone growth and prevent teeth from moving or falling out.

Benefits of Bone Grafting

Many people can benefit from bone grafting to improve the outcomes of tooth replacement.

You will benefit from it in the following ways:

• A higher success percentage for dental implants
• Increased dental implant stability
• More functional chewing and biting
• Enhanced facial appearance
• More dental implant choices

Without a bone graft, the alternatives for dental implants are limited, potentially limiting functioning. Implant success and stability are improved with bone grafting.

Choosing the best implant solution for your bite will improve your biting and chewing performance.

Sunken cheeks, hanging jowls, and other consequences can result from bone loss in the face, and tooth replacements based on decreased bone may worsen the initial bone loss.

Is It Possible to Avoid the Need for a Bone Graft?

In some situations, if restorative treatment is started straight away for the missing tooth or teeth, bone grafting can be avoided.

When restoration work is done right away after a tooth is lost, there can be enough natural bone left behind to accommodate the implant.

A bone graft will be required if a tooth has been missing for a period since the bone will gradually begin to deteriorate.

While it is often the case, restoring a missing tooth as soon as possible will lessen the possibility that a bone graft will be necessary.

Some people require a bone graft because of developmental flaws, gum disease, or other diseases that have made the bone thin.

This means that regardless of how soon you choose to repair the missing tooth, a bone graft will be required.

Options Besides Bone Grafting

Consider the alternatives to bone grafting when deciding whether bone grafting is right for you.

If you choose not to have bone grafting, you have four options:

#1. Not Replacing Teeth

Opting not to replace a lost tooth may cause multiple effects, including:

• Increased chance of tooth loss
• Teeth drifting
• Cleaning teeth is challenging
• Unattractive smile

The most obvious cosmetic issue people have with their smiles is likely a missing tooth.

People may assume the worst about you because they notice and since they have biases about people with missing teeth.

The rest of your teeth may move into a gap left by a missing tooth.

This may make them crooked and make it difficult to maintain good oral hygiene.

You have a higher risk of losing additional teeth in the future due to cleaning issues, drifting, and the added pressure on each remaining tooth.

#2. Conventional Dentures

Traditional dentures are not bone-dependent. They merely rest on top of your gums instead.

A partial denture, which we refer to as replacing fewer than a full set of teeth, may also use hooks or clasps to secure itself to nearby natural teeth.

What to anticipate with a conventional denture is:

• Aged appearance
• Persistent bone mass decrease
• Reduced bite force
• Unstable dentures

Traditional dentures lack bone support, limiting bite ability and causing mouth movement, leading to shrinking jaw bone and an aged appearance.

#3. Dental Bridge

A dental bridge replaces a lost tooth by utilising the support of neighbouring teeth, often two crowns over natural teeth.

Initially, the bridge looks attractive and allows normal chewing. However, if a bone loss occurs at the tooth loss site, it may create a visible space under the replacement tooth and increase the risk of losing supporting teeth, depending on the location.

#4. No-Graft Implant Solutions

Dental implants can occasionally be placed without a bone graft. Implants are put at risk when positioned in areas with insufficient bone to sustain them.

However, certain implant systems are made to function with less bone.

Your experiences with these implant options could include the following:

• Reduced durability
• Limited function
• Less than a complete set of teeth
• Lowered aesthetic standards

Compromises are a necessity whenever there is less bone than desirable. Your particular situation will determine the specifics of the compromise. This might be your best option in some cases.

Bone Grafting in Applecross

Bone grafting can be used as part of the dental implant procedure, but it is not required.

Your Applecross dentist at Epsom Dental Care Applecross will work closely with you to find the perfect treatment plan for you.

Visit your Applecross dentist today!

Call us at (08) 9316 0555 or book your appointment online.

We are located at 729 Canning Hwy in Applecross.