Dental Implants: Where Does The Bone For A Bone Graft Come From?
Posted on: 26 June 2017
When you have a missing tooth, the bone near the area where the tooth was lost can deteriorate. After the bone in your jaw as deteriorated, there are many procedures that are difficult to perform, such as installing dental implants. A bone augmentation may then be necessary in order to create a location where the implant can be embedded securely. The jaw bone might not be tall enough or wide enough. Therefore, a variety of procedures need to be used in order to build the bone back up so that a dental implant can be inserted.
Finding New Bone Material
With a bone graft, new bone material is added to existing bone. This can either be from your own bone or from a cadaver. If the bone is your own bone, it will often come from your chin or from the back part of your jaw referred to as the ramus. If the bone will be removed from the jaw, there will be a cut in the gum that is below the lower front teeth. A portion of bone is then removed. That are area is then filled in with another bone material. A film of tissue is placed over the bone to prevent the gum from filling in the space where the bone was removed.
However, there are some patients who do not like the idea of the material coming from their own bone. They may not like the idea of a surgery being performed on another part of the body. If this is your concern, another option is to have the bone material taken from a cadaver. There are also synthetic materials that can be used for a bone graft depending on your situation. There is also the bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2). This component turns human cells into bone and eliminates the need for bone grafting.
The Surgery
Wherever the bone is taken from, it is anchored into place with titanium screws. Then, bone marrow and other materials are placed around the edges of the block of bone. After the area is closed up, you will be given pain medication and antibiotics. You will want to avoid placing pressure on the area where the bone graft was added and you will want to avoid eating certain foods. If the bone graft procedure was successful, your dentist will have a location where a dental implant can then be inserted.
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