Do You Need a Bone Graft to Get Dental Implants?

You’ve been dealing with a missing tooth for quite some time now, and you’re just about sick of it. It makes living your daily life really inconvenient. You have trouble eating certain crunchy and chewy foods, and you’re self-conscious about the gaps in your grin. You’ve asked your dentist about getting dental implants in Mesquite, but they said you’ll need to undergo a bone graft before you can get them. What exactly does that mean? Read more to find out.

Anatomy of a Dental Implant

When it comes to replacing missing teeth, dental implants are truly the best option. This is because they consist of a titanium post that is surgically inserted into the jawbone to perfectly mimic the root structure of a lost tooth. Dental implants are the only solution to tooth loss that does this.

After the implant has been placed and your jawbone is given a chance to grow around it, your dentist will install an abutment. This is a metal connector piece that screws into the implant and sticks out above the gumline. From there, your dentist will attach the crown, bridge, or denture that will serve as the visible part of your smile.

How to Know If You Need a Bone Graft

The only person who can answer this question is your dentist, or whoever will be performing your oral surgery in Mesquite. They will take x-rays of your jawbone to determine its strength. Your dentist may learn that your jawbone is too soft or thin to support a dental implant. This is because after you have experienced tooth loss for some time, the jawbone begins to gradually deteriorate in that area. If that’s the case for your situation, then you’re going to need a bone graft.

The Bone Grafting Procedure

For the procedure, your dentist or oral surgeon will take a piece of bone from elsewhere in your body, or – as is more common these days – use an artificial bone material and graft it onto your jawbone. Then, you will have to wait a few months as the graft creates new, strong bone to support your dental implant. Once the bone graft healing is complete, you will be ready to receive your dental implants.

Just because your jawbone isn’t strong enough right away to support a dental implant, that doesn’t mean you can never receive implants. Your journey might just take a few months longer. But it will be worth it to receive your new teeth.

About the Practice

Bear Creek Family Dentistry has eleven convenient locations throughout the Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex area. No matter where you live in the Metroplex, we have a dental implant expert who can replace your missing teeth and even give you a stronger jawbone if that’s a necessary part of your journey. To schedule a consultation, click here or call our Mesquite location at (469) 778-4135.