While the primary concern for missing, or failing teeth is loss of biting and chewing function, treating a fading smile is often equally as important. With dental implant and advanced bone grafting solutions, you can enjoy both restored function and improved esthetics. Find out how bone grafting can help you get dental implants and strengthen the structure of your smile.
How Bone Grafting and Dental Implants Support the Structure of Smiles
Bone grafting is a broad term for a number of procedures aimed to replacing or regenerating lost bone. In general, these procedures are carried out in periodontal and oral surgery offices by specialists who place allograft (sterile cadaver bone made of collagen type 1 and 3) or autogenous (your own bone harvested from elsewhere in the mouth) bone material in areas of the jawbones that have experienced bone loss. This “regrown” bone now serves to replace teeth via implants at sites that were previously not candidates. At the new implant sites, the loading or what specialists call proprioception of the implant to the bone, preserves bone density and volume going forward. This is a way not only to replace missing teeth but also to minimize further loss of bone and preserve your natural anatomy.
Options for Bone Grafting
Here’s a look at two common bone grafting procedures:
Ridge augmentation – Bone tissue and growth factors, which expedite healing, are placed to strengthen jawbones and provide a firm foundation for dental implants. Dr. Anderson prefers a novel technique called S.M.A.R.T., involving adding bone graft to a deficit site via a pouch. This minimally invasive option is correlated with better patient reported outcomes and superior clinical gains vs more invasive traditional techniques.
Ridge preservation – Bone is grafted immediately into sockets after extraction. This procedure minimizes bone loss or atrophy after a tooth extraction, and can help prevent the need for ridge augmentation procedures thus leaving open the possibility for dental implants later.
More on Dental Implants and Bone Grafting in Bloomfield Hills, MI
Reserve an appointment with Dr. Lauren Anderson of Anderson Periodontal Wellness for a consultation on dental implants and bone grafting in Bloomfield Hills, MI.