What is dental bone grafting? Dental bone grafting can be several different things. The first topic we will cover on dental bone grafting is socket preservation. Socket preservation is a simple way to ensure that there are less defects in the bone when a tooth is extracted. When the tooth is extracted, the socket remains and fills with blood. Many times tissue can invaginate the area causing a bony defect. Bony defects are not ideal for placing implants. When a bone graft is placed in the socket and a collagen membrane is placed over the area with sutures to hold it down, the area is less likely to heal with a bony defect.

There are many different types of bone graft material that can be placed within the socket. The process requires the doctor to clean the socket to remove the periodontal ligament and any abscess or a cyst that remain in the socket. Once the area is thoroughly cleaned, the doctor may irrigate the area with paradex or chlorhexidine irrigation. This is a disinfecting irrigation. The bone graft material will then be mixed with either sterile saline or plasma from the patient's own blood. There are many different types of bone graft material which we will cover later on.

The bone graft material, which looks like a ground up material or powder, is then placed into the cleaned and disinfected socket. It is packed with a condenser instrument. The bone graft material is then covered with a collagen plug or membrane. This membrane or plug will dissolve on its own. The doctor will then place stitches or sutures over the membrane to keep it in place. This is the process of socket preservation.

The next thing we will cover is bone grafting within the sinus. Sometimes the sinus will drop into an area where an upper molar was removed. This is called sinus pneumatization. It is basically when the air fills the sinus causing the sinus to push down into the area where the roots once were. Even if you have had a socket preservation, it still may be necessary to have a sinus augmentation. In this case there are two types of sinus augmentation, which we will cover later on.

The sinus area is grafted with many different types of bone graft material. The sinus has a membrane that is lifted and the bone graft material is placed underneath the membrane. This allows for a greater vertical dimension of bone, which will then allow for an easier implant placement. Another type of graph material type is a ridge augmentation. The ridge augmentation graft is when the bone is missing horizontal component or thickness. In this case, the ridge would need to be augmented horizontally to create a greater thickness of bone in order to place an implant. The minimum thickness the doctor needs is at least five millimeters, with the ideal thickness being more than seven.

Are you looking to work with an experienced dental implants doctor? Call Implant Center Of Miami for a free consultation by calling (786)-713-9290 or emailing us directly at neil@implantinstructor.com. We're located on 1160 Kane Concourse, Bay Harbor Islands, FL 33154, United States.