A dental bone graft is a procedure that adds volume and density to the jawbone in areas where bone loss has occurred. The bone graft material may be taken from the patients own body (autogenous), purchased from a human tissue bank (allograft), or an animal tissue bank (xenograft), or it may be synthetic (alloplast) . Once the bone graft has been placed, it holds space for the patient's own body to do the repair work. In other words, a dental bone graft is like a scaffold on which the patient's own bone tissue can grow and regenerate.
Dental bone grafts are often performed alongside dental implant surgery, as implants require sufficient bone tissue to support them. Bone grafts help to reinforce the dental bone that's responsible for stabilizing teeth, and they counteract the natural resorption (shrinking) that happens in the jaw once a tooth is missing.
The bone graft procedure involves adding bone to the area where bone loss has occurred, and it is typically performed by taking bone from another part of the patient's body (autograft), or from a human tissue bank (allograft), or an animal tissue bank (xenograft) . After the bone graft procedure has been completed, the body's natural healing process begins, and the grafted bone integrates with the existing bone, creating a strong foundation for future dental work, such as dental implant surgery.
Dental bone grafts can increase a patient's eligibility for dental implants and other restorative treatments, and they can restore the jaw to its original form following trauma, tooth loss, or gum (periodontal) disease. Bone grafts in the mouth are generally safe, but the procedure carries some risks and complications.
