Dental Implant Preparation: What to Expect From Bone Grafting

If you’ve lost one or more teeth to extraction or gum disease, you may feel self-conscious about the gaps and attempt to hide your smile. The missing teeth can even take a toll on oral health, causing existing teeth to shift and jawbone quality and quantity to diminish. 

Thankfully, there are several options that can replace missing teeth and restore your smile’s look and functionality. 

One of the best choices is dental implants, which consist of titanium screws implanted into your jaw and natural-looking crowns placed on top. Dental implants are permanent and stimulate new jawbone production as you talk and chew. They also function like your regular teeth and blend in seamlessly with the rest of your smile. 

Before you get dental implants, you need to have sufficient amounts of quality jawbone for the titanium screws to hold onto. That’s why prosthodontic experts Nodesh Shyamsunder, BDS, Jasleen Raina, DDS, and the rest of our team at Beaches Dentistry in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, offer bone grafting as part of our dental implant process. 

This month’s blog focuses on what to expect when you undergo the bone grafting process with us. 

What is a dental bone graft?

A dental bone graft is a procedure to replace areas of the jawbone that are missing or shallow. 

During the procedure, your provider makes an incision in your jaw and then attaches (grafts) the new bone material. Dental bone grafting material can be bone taken from your body or a human or animal bone tissue bank. Sometimes, we can use synthetic materials. 

Once the bone material gets placed, your body absorbs the grafted tissue and grows new jawbone around the graft site. 

What are the different bone grafting methods?

There are two types of dental bone grafts for dental implants: sinus lifts and ridge augmentation. Here, we review each one.

Sinus lift

If you’re missing any of your upper teeth, your sinuses can drop down into the area where your tooth roots once were. Before getting implants, your sinus floor needs lifting to avoid the risk of anchoring implants into your sinuses. A sinus lift raises your sinuses back up to their original position and places a graft underneath to give a sturdy base for the implants. 

Ridge augmentation

When missing teeth for a while, your jawbone can become thin and fragile. A ridge augmentation adds the necessary volume and density back to your jawbone so your implants have a firm foundation. 

What to expect during your bone graft

On the day of your bone graft, we begin by numbing the grafting area with a local anesthetic. Sedation is also available if that’s a preferable option for you. 

After applying the anesthetic, we incision your gum tissue and pull it back to reveal the jawbone underneath. The surgical area is then thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before we place the bone grafting material. We then finish the procedure by stitching the surgical site closed. 

Recovery from a bone graft is quick. You may experience minor pain, swelling, and discomfort for a few days but should return to normal within a week or two. Our team monitors the jawbone healing and regeneration process over the next few months to determine when your jaw is ready for implants. 

If you’d like to learn more about bone grafts or any other step in the dental implant process, schedule an appointment with our team by calling our office at 904-246-6714 or using our online booking feature today.