What is a Bone Graft?
Some patients who need a dental implant will not have enough bone in their jaw to support the implant.
Bone grafts and sinus lifts can help correct these issues. A bone graft is a surgical procedure where your oral and maxillofacial surgeon adds bone tissue to your jaw to strengthen it, in preparation for a dental implant surgery.
Bone grafts and sinus lifts can help improve the strength of your jaw bone and enhance your oral health. Once the bone has healed, the dental implant can be placed.
How Bone Grafting Works
A bone graft causes natural bone tissue to grow in a specific area. The graft material will eventually be completely replaced by the natural bone as it grows, creating a fully integrated new bone region.
Reasons for a Bone Graft
Is your jaw bone too thin or soft to support a dental implant? Your oral and maxillofacial surgeon may recommend a bone graft procedure.
Following the bone graft, you'll need to wait several months before you will be able to have dental implant surgery.
A bone graft may also be required to regenerate bone lost to severe gum disease in order to prevent teeth from becoming too loose or falling out.
Sinus Lifts
A sinus lift is a type of bone grafting procedure in which your surgeon will add bone material to the upper back jaw, prior to your dental implant procedure.
The dental implant will naturally fuse with the jaw bone in a process called osseointegration, but this relies on a certain amount of bone being present.
The amount of bone in the sinus area will be increased with a sinus lift, allowing the implant to be placed.
