Bone Grafts

When a patient does not have enough jawbone for a dental implant, bone grafting is a typical, safe and effective solution. The procedure is relatively straightforward and is performed in the Sacramento offices of Downtown Dentistry.

The jaw loses bone for a number of reasons:

  1. If a tooth is lost, over time the bone in that area of the jaw recedes due to resorption of skeletal minerals. Bone grafting allows for a future implant or preserves the jaw structure for esthetic reasons.
  2. If a patient has gum disease, especially when left untreated, the periodontitis can lead to bone loss. Other forms of infection can also reduce jawbone stability.
  3. Damage to the jaw due to accident or genetic defects may leave insufficient bone for implants or it creates a deformity.

Materials for Bone Grafting

There are four different types of material used for bone grafting. Graft material may come from just one or a combination of these substances during a single procedure.

  1. Autograft — also known as autogenous bone grafting, this procedure takes bone from one part of the oral cavity (typically the chin) and transfers it to another. This procedure heals the fastest and has the highest success rate since it uses your own bone for the process.
  2. Allograft — or an allogenic bone graft, uses material from cadavers. You may think of this as similar to an organ donation and the donated material is bone. Tested and rigorous sanitizing and sterilizing processes allow your body to absorb and utilize this material without the need for immunosuppressive drugs. This also prevents any possible infection from the cadaver material. There has never been a recorded case of a patient receiving a disease from material used for an allograft.
  3. Xenograft — also called a xenogenic bone graft. This material comes from cows. Like the allogenic bone graft, the laboratory processing of the material makes it usable for the patient’s jaw, even though the base substance comes from another species. Given many of our patients’ eating habits, this method is usually easily accepted.
  4. Alloplast — or an alloplastic bone graft. This graft procedure uses synthetic materials that are designed for and accepted by the human body.

The type of material used depends on the patient and their circumstances. When large amounts of graft material are required, a strictly autogenous graft is usually not possible without surgery in a hospital to remove bone from the patient’s hip or shin. Since most patients want to avoid a hospital visit, the other three grafting choices are usually preferred or are used to supplement an autogenous bone graft.

The Bone Graft

Bone grafting can be completed during a single visit to the dental offices of Dr. Steele. Afterwards, an autograft takes four to six months to complete, while other forms of grafting take up to nine months or more before the jaw is ready for implants or further work. A membrane is often attached to the jaw to ensure the development of bone instead of soft tissue during the grafting process. In addition, temporary bridges or specialized dentures may be used for the patient in the interim.

Success Rates

Bone grafting is nearly always successful. While bone grafts do fail on occasion, even when autogenous bone is used, the fault almost always lies with preventable problems, such as infection, smoking or specific medical conditions. Every step is taken to consider these circumstances before Dr. Brian Steele attempts to add bone to your jaw. The goal of any bone graft procedure is a better jaw, a better smile and better dental health for you!