When our teeth fall out, the jawbone that had held them in place begins to deteriorate. Without intervention, the loss of jawbone can cause your face to look sunken in and can eventually rule out the best solution for tooth loss: dental implants. However, an oral surgeon can offer bone grafting as an option to restore your smile inside and out. Take a look at how bone grafting can help rebuild your smile.
What’s Dental Bone Grafting?
A dental bone graft is a procedure meant to increase bone mass or density by fusing donor bone with the existing bone. Bone may be taken from a natural or synthetic source and placed in an area where bone mass is insufficient. After the donor bone has been placed, it’ll begin to fuse, or “graft,” with the existing bone and may even regenerate additional bone.
What Are the Benefits of Bone Grafting?
Looking at the big picture, bone grafting offers much more than the ability to replace lost jawbone. Take a look at some of the top benefits of having a bone graft:
Dental implants – bone grafting can make dental implants possible by proving the sturdy foundation the implants will need in order to last the rest of the patient’s life.
Prevents additional jawbone loss – bone grafting can replace loss jawbone and help regenerate bone
Restores facial structure – bone grafting can correct changes to your facial structure that occurred due to bone loss.
Related Procedures
Your oral surgeon’s capabilities likely won’t end with bone grafting. If your case is severe or uncommon, there are still options available to improve your candidacy for dental implants. A ridge augmentation, for example, uses bone grafting to reshape the jawbone ridge to make the area durable enough for dental implants. And a sinus lift, may be done to make space in your mouth for implants if your sinuses crowd the space.
More on Bone Grafting in San Antonio, TX
Take a moment to schedule a consultation with a local dentist to find out more about your options for bone grafting in San Antonio, TX.