Bone Grafting

Las Vegas, NV

If you lose a tooth, you will lose more than just the actual tooth. When a tooth is missing, it will also affect your jaw. Without the tooth there, your body will start what is known as regeneration. This means that your body will start to absorb the bone that has been left behind in your jaw. Here at Nevada Oral & Facial Surgery, we can often replace a missing tooth with a dental implant. The problem is that you need to have enough bone in your jaw for the implant to hold. There is a way to get more bone in your jaw once again. The process is known as bone grafting.

Bone Grafting: What You Need To Know

With bone grafting, we can replace the bone that you have lost. You will end up with enough bone so that the implant will stay.

A bone graft starts with getting the bone that we will use to replace what you have lost. Very often we will take a small amount of bone from your chin, your hip, or from one of the bones in your knee. Do not worry; it will not be noticeable. We will sometimes use bone from a donor instead, or possibly from a cadaver. There is also a special material that has been created for bone grafts that is being used fairly often as well.

We will grind up the bone so that it will be the size of grains of sand. We will then place these in your jaw in the area that has been prepared to receive the bone graft.

After you leave the office, you will want to stick with soft foods for a while. A bone graft could take several weeks to take. We will check on your progress from time to time to make sure that everything is going according to plan.

For some patients, the amount of bone needed for the implant to take is small. If that is the case, we might decide to do the bone graft the same day that we take care of the first step of the dental implant.

If a large amount of bone is needed, we might do the procedure in a different way. We could take a larger section of bone and graft that without grinding it. Remember that the word “large” is relative, it will still be a small piece of bone that is used.

Find Out More Today

Bone grafting is often the first step to replacing a missing tooth. The entire process of receiving a dental implant can take months, but it is worth it. Without the bone graft, the implant might not stay in place. It is especially important to have a bone graft if you have been missing the tooth for a while because there could be a significant amount of bone loss. Here at Nevada Oral & Facial Surgery, we want to replace that missing tooth and give you back your smile. Call (702) 360-8918 to make the appointment. Since the process can take several weeks, we should get started as soon as possible.