Bone Grafting

Bone grafting is the process of transplanting bone from somewhere else in your body into another area. In dentistry, bone grafting can add density to your jawbone so the bone can better support a dental implant. Bone can be obtained from your own body, a cadaver, or an animal.

After you lose teeth and their natural roots, a process called bone resorption can take place in the jaw. The bone loses some of its volume. Over time, the bone resorption worsens the longer you go without replacing the missing roots with dental implants. Dental implants preserve the bone, but there needs to be enough bone to hold the implant in the first place.

The Dental Specialists of New Jersey team specializes in a couple of different procedures using bone grafts, such as socket preservation, sinus lift bone graft surgery, and ridge augmentation. Both grafting procedures are used to improve the thickness and height of the upper or lower jaw.

Dental bone grafting can prepare you for procedures with long-term, positive results for your oral health and function. The team at Dental Specialists of New Jersey may recommend bone grafting to you if you:

• Plan on getting a single dental implant.
• Plan on getting All-on-4® dental implants.
• Plan on getting conventional dentures.
• Need a tooth extraction.
• Have lost jawbone volume to advanced gum disease.

With more bone material in the jaw, your jaw is stronger and better able to withstand the forces of your bite. If you’re getting an extraction but don’t yet have plans to replace the tooth, the team at Dental Specialists of New Jersey can place an extraction site bone graft on the day of the procedure. Having an extraction site bone graft prepares you for a possible future implant while maintaining the original bone contour.

Bone grafting is a surgery, so you can expect to have some swelling and slight discomfort during the recovery. The team at Dental Specialists of New Jersey gives you detailed instructions on how to care for the incision sites and prevent any possible complications. Dentists Shalom Mintz, DDS, MS, and Dale Rosenbach, DMD, perform their procedure to be as minimally invasive as possible. That is why most of the patients at Dental Specialists of New Jersey report minimal to zero post-operative swelling and discomfort.

Although any pain and swelling will diminish within about a week of your surgery, you can expect the healing process of the bone growth to take three months in total. If you’re waiting to get implants, the team evaluates you and lets you know when it’s safe to go ahead with implant surgery.