What is a Dental Bone Graft? What are the benefits? 

Jawbone does not stay strong forever. People may lose jawbone if suffering from periodontal disease, facial injuries, developmental defects, or planning to get dentures, dental implants, or a tooth extracted. If a dentist sees you have a weak jawbone or bone loss in the jaw, they may recommend you get a dental bone graft procedure before any further treatment is administered. 

What is a Dental Bone Graft?

A dental bone graft or bone graft dental is a surgical procedure where the dentist repairs weak or missing jawbone mass by transplanting healthy bone material. The dental bone graft material could get taken from another bone inside your body, or it could be obtained from a third-party human tissue bank. 

Either way, bone grafting will add more bone density and volume to your jaw. A strong and healthy jawbone is required for several restorative dental procedures, especially dental implants. Bone grafting for dental implants is most common when someone has a missing tooth and wants a dental implant to close the gap between their teeth. 

Did you know that you gradually lose jawbone mass each day you live with a missing tooth? If you wait too long to get a dental implant to fill an empty socket on your upper or lower arch, you will need to get a bone graft to replace the bone loss. The longer you wait, the more bone deposit you will need. 

When the dental bone graft healing process is finished, you can proceed to get your dental implants without any further setbacks. 

The Benefits of Dental Bone Grafts

Are you wondering whether it is worth getting a dental bone graft procedure? Here are the top five benefits of dental bone grafts for your consideration. 

1) Improves Facial Cosmetics

Your jawbone plays a significant role in the attractiveness of your facial appearance. Since the slightest amount of missing jawbone mass could significantly impact your facial appearance, replacing the missing bone can restore or improve your looks. 

Dental bone grafts stimulate your facial bone structures and enhance your overall appearance. Then you can gain back the self-confidence and self-esteem you lost and live a happier and more confident lifestyle. 

2) Provides Better Chewing Strength

A strong jawbone is essential for chewing solid foods. Any weakness or bone loss in your jaw will make it more challenging to chew your favorite foods. Bone grafting will improve and restore your chewing strength because your jawbone will be complete again. 

Of course, you’ll have to wait until you get your new dental implants before you have suitable teeth for chewing. But the jawbone strength will be there when you’re ready. 

3) Prevents Further Bone Damage

Your teeth and jawbone give strength and reinforcement to one another. That is why one missing tooth could diminish your jawbone strength and ultimately affect the strength and stability of other teeth in your mouth. 

Bone grafting will prevent your jawbone from diminishing any further. Bone grafting will restore the depleted jawbone mass and ensure the rest of your jawbone and teeth remain stable and healthy. 

Therefore, please don’t wait too long to get the bone grafting procedure because it will be easier to save your jawbone and teeth if you get it done quickly. 

4) Gives Support to Dental Appliances

Bone grafts are a common first step before receiving vital dental appliances, such as implants, crowns, bridges, dentures, etc. 

Once the grafting makes your jawbone stronger, it will be able to provide the necessary support for securing the dental appliances in your mouth. Then you can get a long life out of your dental appliances without much risk of setbacks or injuries. 

5) Affordable

The dental bone grafting cost is more affordable than you might think. The exact price depends on how much transplanted or synthetic bone mass you need for your jaw. The dentist will make this determination after your initial examination. 

For instance, a standard dental bone graft using synthetic bone will cost $300 to $800 per socket. Synthetic bone doesn’t need to get transplanted from your body, so it is easier for the dentist to produce. The synthetic bone option is the cheapest grafting option and is recommended for patients on a budget. 

In some cases, a dentist will recommend that natural bone mass get extracted from your body and transplanted to your jaw. This is a more expensive grafting procedure costing anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 because it requires extensive orthopedic surgery and hospitalization. Your dentist will provide more information. 

Improve Your Oral Health Today

Our dental professionals and staff members will ensure the entire dental bone grafting procedure goes smoothly for you. When you choose our dental practice, you will be in good hands from start to finish.  

Contact Us for a Free Price Estimate on Our Dental Bone Grafting Services!

Dental Bone Graft Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Dental Bone Graft?

Think of a dental bone graft as transplanted bone material. When the dentist puts the bone material in your jaw to replace the missing bone, it will soon cause new bone cells to form around the grafted bone material. This helps improve the strength of your jawbone so that it can handle a complex dental treatment like an implant or dentures. 

How Long After Bone Graft Can You Get Implant?

The maximum time between bone grafting and dental implant procedures is 1 to 2 years. That is how long it takes for your jawbone to heal from the grafting procedure before it is strong enough to handle the implant. However, most patients only need about 6 to 12 months for their dental bone graft recovery to be completed. It all depends on how much bone mass was rebuilt or replaced. 

For instance, patients with periodontal disease may need more time to heal because they may have more severely affected jawbones. On the other hand, someone with a missing tooth may not have as much jawbone loss, which means they would likely heal faster. Your dentist can give you a better time estimate after an initial oral examination.