Bone Grafting
Dentist Surprise, AZ
 The dental space has experienced significant growth over the past few decades, with bone grafting among the leading trends. If you want renewed hope and mobility, this surgical procedure leverages the capability of the body to regenerate bone mass, accelerating tissue growth and restoring strength and rigidity to your skeletal structure. At Greenway Family Dental, we recommend bone grafting to promote healing and enhance the functionality and resilience of the jawbone. While grafting is an invasive procedure, the results are undeniable. Consult a professional dental practitioner to learn more about bone grafting and determine if it is the proper treatment.
What Is Bone Grafting?
Bone grafting is a surgical procedure designed to repair bones that have sustained severe fractures or have failed to heal correctly. When you are cleared for bone grafting, the oral surgeons at Greenway Family Dental transplant bone tissue from one part of the body (autograft) or a donor (allograft) to fill gaps in damaged or bone-deficient areas. By stimulating the natural bone-making process, bone grafting promotes tissue growth and facilitates the restoration of bone strength and firmness. In addition, bone grafting can fuse adjacent bones, treating chronic pain and enhancing jawbone.
What Are the Types of Bone Grafting?
Bone grafting is a crucial dental procedure that restores and increases the jawbone structure to support dental implants or address bone deficiencies. At Greenway Family Dental, we leverage several innovative bone grafting techniques, each with unique advantages. These methods include:
Allograft
Allograft bone grafting entails using bone tissue sourced from a donor, usually a cadaver. This type of grafting eliminates the need for a secondary surgical site, reducing discomfort and complexity during surgery. Once dental professionals obtain the allograft materials, they use innovative equipment and proven strategies to remove potential infectious agents without compromising the structural integrity of the bone. However, there is a slight risk of immune rejection because allografts are acquired from different individuals. Follow-up visits to a dental specialist after bone grafting can mitigate such issues and ensure a healthy recovery.
Autograft
Autograft bone grafting involves obtaining bone tissue from the patient, usually the chin, jaw, hip, or tibia. This method offers several advantages, including compatibility with the immune system of the patient, reduced risk of rejection, and superior bone healing properties. Another benefit of autografts is they contain live bone cells, growth factors, and proteins that facilitate faster bone regeneration and integration.
However, autografts require an additional surgical site for bone extraction, causing discomfort, longer downtime, and potential complications at the donor site. Despite these drawbacks, autografts remain a popular choice in cases where significant bone volume is required or in patients with compromised healing.
Bone Marrow Aspirate
Bone marrow aspirate (BMA) grafting is another effective technique that involves harvesting bone marrow from the pelvis or femur and using it as a grafting material. Bone marrow is rich in mesenchymal stem cells, growth factors, and cytokines, which promote bone regeneration and tissue repair. BMA grafting offers several advantages, including minimal invasiveness, reduced risk of infection, and enhanced bone healing capabilities. Since oral surgeons use the bone marrow of the patient, there is no concern about immune rejection. However, BMA grafting may not provide sufficient bone volume, prompting multiple aspirations to obtain adequate bone marrow.
Synthetic Bone Graft
As the term suggests, synthetic bone grafting uses artificial materials. Dental specialists often recommend calcium phosphates, hydroxyapatite, or bioactive glass to augment or replace missing bone tissue. Synthetic grafts offer several advantages, including unlimited availability, customizable properties, and reduced risk of disease transmission. These materials mimic the structure and composition of natural bone, providing a solid framework for new bone formation and integration.
Synthetic bone grafts are biocompatible and undergo gradual resorption and replacement by the bone over time. However, synthetic grafts do not have biological signaling molecules in natural bone, causing slower bone healing and integration than autografts or allografts. Additionally, synthetic grafts are ineffective in compromised healing capacity or significant bone loss.
More Frequently Asked Questions
Who needs a bone graft?
A surgical procedure to rebuild or repair bones, bone grafting transplants healthy bone tissue into the damaged bone, where the new cells grow and rebuild the bone. The healthy bone may be harvested from the human body (including elsewhere on your own body) or an animal. However, a synthetic material called hydroxyapatite, known for its strength and biocompatibility is commonly used in modern dentistry for bone loss in the jaw.
Advanced gum disease (periodontal disease) is a factor that causes bone loss in the jaw. In its early stages, gum disease affects the gums and soft tissues of the mouth. Initially leading to irritation of the gums around the teeth, if the disease is not treated the gum tissues begin to shrink back. As the disease progresses the disease begins to affect the supporting structures of the teeth, including the jawbone, which results in bone loss. As the bone deteriorates, tooth loss is one of the consequences.
Tooth loss is another cause of bone loss in the bone that holds your teeth. As soon as a tooth is removed from its socket the bone surrounding it begins to atrophy. The act of chewing stimulates the bone, and if there is no tooth present the bone begins to dissipate through lack of use.
What is bone grafting, and why is it necessary?
Bone grafting is a common technique used in dentistry to augment lost bone in the jaw. It is often used prior to dental implant procedures but can be carried out in other circumstances, such as rebuilding the jaw after injury or reconstructive surgery. With our expertise at Greenway Family Dental we can provide a range of bone grafting solutions for your specific dental health issue.
How do I prepare for a bone graft surgery?
You will meet with our oral surgeon prior to this surgery to get dental x-rays and discuss the procedure. At this consultation, you can determine the best type of bone graft for you. You will also receive instructions on food, drink, and medication intake prior to surgery.
What happens during the bone grafting procedure?
Bone grafts are placed in the area in need of treatment and will bond with existing tissue to restore the damaged tissue. The four most common types of bone grafts are the autograft, the allograft, the xenograft, and the alloplast. An autograft involves taking bone from another part of the patient's body, such as the hip or a firm part of the jaw, for the grafting. An external human donor provides replacement bone during an allograft. Xenografts take bones from non-human animals such as cows. And alloplasts involve creating artificial bone replacements by using materials like calcium and hydroxylapatite.
What is the recovery process like after bone grafting?
After the procedure, you may experience bruising and swelling but we will give you appropriate pain medication and instructions on how to manage your recovery. Most people find the swelling and bruising settles down after about a week, although it may take a month or so to disappear completely.
Most bone grafts take between four to six months to fuse with the natural bone, but in some circumstances, it may take up to a year. |
