Bone Grafting
Rockwall & Paris, Texas
When a tooth is lost or extracted, the jawbone that once supported it begins to deteriorate. This process (known as bone resorption) can have significant consequences for your oral health and facial appearance, particularly when multiple teeth are missing. Bone loss can also result from advanced periodontal disease, which damages the tissues and bone supporting the teeth, or from dental injuries and other conditions that affect the health of the jawbone.
As bone loss progresses, changes to your facial structure may become more noticeable. The lower portion of your face may begin to appear sunken, your lips may lose support, and wrinkles may develop around your mouth. This leads you to look older. Although traditional dentures can replace missing teeth, they don’t provide the stimulation necessary to maintain the underlying jawbone, allowing bone deterioration to continue over time.
Dental implants offer a long-lasting, natural-looking solution for replacing missing teeth while helping preserve the surrounding jawbone. However, patients who have experienced significant bone loss may not have sufficient bone density or volume to support implant placement. In these cases, bone grafting may be recommended to rebuild the affected area and create a stronger foundation for dental implants.
At Northeast Texas Periodontal Specialists, we provide bone grafting procedures to help patients restore lost jawbone and prepare for future dental implant treatment. To learn more about bone grafting and our other periodontal services, explore the information below. To schedule a consultation, contact our Rockwall office at (972) 771-8640 or our Paris office at (903) 785-4832.
Reasons For Bone Grafting
In addition to ensuring there is adequate bone to support a dental implant, a bone graft can also be performed for the following reasons:
- Preserving a tooth: Bone graft material can be used to regenerate new bone for a tooth that has bone loss around it due to gum disease in order to give it additional bone support.
- Ridge preservation after tooth extraction: To avoid causing deterioration to adjacent teeth, preserve your jawline, and/or prepare the site for a dental implant, a bone graft can be placed in the tooth socket and secured by a membrane and suture.
- Sinus Lift: Patients who are missing back teeth on the top jaw may require a sinus lift. Because of the bone loss and sinus cavity changes caused by the loss of these teeth, the floor of your sinus cavity can drop, which makes the depth of the bone shallow and not adequate for placing an implant. To make the bone deep enough to support an implant, we will lift up the soft tissue membrane of your sinus cavity and place bone graft material underneath it. Over time, new bone will regenerate, and an implant can be securely placed in the area of the sinus lift.
- Aesthetic ridge augmentation: When a tooth has been lost, the ridge of bone that was previously supporting that tooth can begin to sink. A bone graft can be placed under this ridge line to restore it to its normal width and height and restore your natural-looking smile.
Bone Grafting
The Procedure
To determine if bone grafting is necessary, we will perform a thorough evaluation to determine the underlying cause of your tooth loss and discuss available treatment options. We will also take 3D images using a dental CT scanner to determine the bone density and volume in your jaw. These images will allow us to determine where grafting is needed, or find points where there is an adequate volume of bone to support an implant without the need for a bone graft.
Before placing the graft, it may be necessary to first prepare the bone. Once prepared, we will place the graft material into the implant site, which will regenerate new bone and act as a platform or scaffold for the bone to form around. Over time, this graft material will dissolve, and your own healthy bone will remain in its place. We often also apply growth proteins that will help prevent infection, minimize swelling, and speed up the bone regeneration process. If possible, we will place the implant immediately with the bone graft, but in many cases, it will be necessary to wait for the bone to regenerate first, then come back at a later time to place the implant. This decision is based on the amount of bone grafting necessary for the implant to be placed.
Bone Grafting
Costs Associated
The cost of the bone graft will largely depend on any additional procedures being performed along with your dental bone graft, what type of dental sedation is used, and your dental insurance plan. It is also important to factor in the cost of the initial visit and any follow-up appointments that may be necessary. There may also be additional costs if antibiotics or pain medication are prescribed.
For patients who are covered under a dental insurance plan, although we are not in-network, we will gladly help prepare and file your claim to ensure you receive your maximum reimbursement. Payment is due in full on the day of treatment. We accept cash, check, Visa, Discover, Mastercard, and American Express. If you are concerned about the cost of receiving treatment, please know that we offer our patients Compassionate Finance, which offers a variety of payment solutions with fixed interest rates and manageable monthly payments, and CareCredit®, which offers 24-month payment plans with zero interest, as well as low-interest financing for 24-60 months.
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