Bone grafting is a necessary surgical procedure in some dental implant procedures. It involves taking healthy bone tissue and transplanting it into your jawbone.
If you don’t have a sufficient quantity and quality of bone to support dental implants and/or maintain good health, you’ll need a bone graft. Anyone who has lost one or more teeth might need a bone graft. A deficiency in natural bone caused by gum disease, trauma or infection might also require your implant dentist to perform a bone graft.
If you’re missing teeth or bone in your jaw, a bone graft can help stimulate the bone growth necessary to support dental implants, which are the best solution for replacing missing natural teeth.
There are a variety of different bone grafting procedures, including:
Common Bone Grafting Procedures
Sinus Lift
Detailed Procedure Guide: Sinus Lift A sinus lift or sinus graft is a surgical procedure where bone is added to your upper jaw in the space between your jaw and your sinuses on either side of your nose. As the name implies, the sinus membrane is moved upward, or “lifted.” This procedure is performed when…
Ridge Augmentation
Detailed Procedure Guide: Ridge Augmentation A ridge augmentation is a common type of bone graft surgery that is sometimes performed in the wake of a tooth extraction. Usually the empty socket heals on its own, but sometimes the bone surrounding the socket is lost and continues to deteriorate to the point that bony ridge grafting…
Ridge Expansion
Detailed Procedure Guide: Ridge Expansion Ridge expansion is a very common type of bone graft surgery that must be performed when your jawbone is not wide enough or tall enough to support dental implants. With this procedure, the bony ridge—the actual jaw bone that supports teeth and implants—is built up, creating an adequate foundation to…
Socket Preservation
Detailed Procedure Guide: Socket Preservation Socket preservation is a common type of bone grafting that is designed to specifically counteract what happens after a tooth is extracted. The socket is the hole that is left in the bone after a tooth is removed. When a tooth is pulled, this bone that surrounds the roots of…