Bone Grafting

In bone grafting for dental implants bone is added to the jawbone when there is insufficient bone to place an implant. It can also be called bone reconstruction, as the jaw is being rehabilitated to its ideal state.

Bone grafting is necessary when someone has lost bone due to gum disease, illness, trauma or missing teeth. Missing teeth is the most common reason. Bone requires the stimulation that teeth provide to stay healthy. The pressure exerted by the chewing forces of the teeth keep the bone at its correct volume and density. Once this stimulation is removed, the bone resorbs (shrinks).

Experience and training you can trust

Dr. Jeffrey Lee has been performing bone grafting procedures since 1993. He is a Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon. His extensive training includes a Doctorate in Medicine (MD). He is trained in state-of-the-art bone grafting techniques and is continually updating his education as advances are made.

How Bone Grafting works

A bone graft is done to add bone in which to place the implant.

Bone grafting stimulates the jawbone to produce its own new bone. As the jawbone produces healthy new bone the grafted material resorbs, or shrinks, into the body. The replacement, however, is not one for one. There is about a 10% to 30% difference depending on the material used, and this has to be compensated for by grafting more bone than is needed.

What material is used for bone grafting?

There are various bone grafting options available and Dr. Lee will chose the one that best fits your situation and meets your needs. A more recent development is a bone protein (BMP—bone morphogenetic protein) that is genetically engineered to be used as graft material that will stimulate stem cell to form bone.

Other types of bone grafting material are cadaver bone and animal bone, usually cow.

In choosing which graft to use, Dr. Lee takes into account various factors. His thorough understanding of the bone grafting process blended with his years of experience enables him to evaluate the best grafting solution for each patient.

Bone grafting procedure

In many cases the bone graft and the dental implant placement can be done in the same visit. Otherwise, the bone graft is left to heal and then the implant is placed. Dr. Lee evaluates which method will work best for each patient based on his in-depth training and many years of experience.

Socket augmentation graft

Socket augmentation is a procedure performed at the time of tooth extraction to help augment the existing bone in preparation for future implant placement. The socket of the tooth is filled with bone graft material to help minimize post-extraction bone loss. A socket augmentation graft may also be needed if there has been destruction to parts of the bony walls of the tooth socket.