What is a dental bone graft?

Bone graft adds volume to the bone where implants are going to be placed. The types of bone grafts are autogenous (own body bone),allograft (human tissue bank), alloplast(synthetic bone graft) and xenograft (animal bone graft). Each type of bone graft has its own purpose and its own benefits and complications. Your experienced Grovedale dentist/ implantologist would usually talk to you about what suits your case best and run through the options with you.

‍

Why is a bone graft needed?

It is most commonly needed if you are having a tooth extracted and planning to have an implant replacement. Think of it as a bone filler so that the new implant/tooth can be placed in an ideal position.

Sometimes it is due to loss of tooth for many years and the bone has shrunk (bone loses its function if not stimulated over the years), making implant placement difficult. Therefore, it needs to be rebuild before getting dental implant done. A history or current active gum disease also makes bone loss quicker and bone graft may be used to regenerate these areas to maintain stability.

‍

How does bone graft work?

The bone acts as a scaffold when placed and bone cells grow into it to regenerate to your own. To help the process, your experienced Geelong implantologist may use platelet rich plasma helps accelerate the process.

‍

What is the grafting procedure like? is it painful?

After local anaesthetic is placed, the gum tissues are treated and your bone is prepared. The bone graft is then placed and stitches are placed to hold the graft. There maybe some soreness on the first few days which is usually relieved with over the counter painkillers and antibiotics. By the time you are back for your review in a week with your Grovedale dentist, you would usually be no longer in any sore of discomfort.

‍