When a tooth is lost due to injury or extraction, it is extremely important to consider placing a bone graft as quickly as possible. Over the first year following the loss of a tooth, your jawbone will atrophy and shrink by up to a third of its natural size. This loss in density is what gives patients the appearance that is commonly associate with old age.
Bone grafting is a minor surgical procedure that is normally done in a dental office. An incision is made in your gum to gain access to the bone beneath it, and then grafting material is added. Most often, the grafting material is processed bone minerals around which your body will actually deposit new bone cells.
The grafting material itself can come from your own body, but very often it is bone from an animal or human donor that has been treated by a laboratory to make it sterile and safe. It can also be a synthetic substance. Grafting material comes in a variety of forms: powder, granules, putty or a gel that can be injected through a syringe. The graft, which is generally covered by a collagen membrane for optimum bone repair, will act as a scaffold onto which your body will build new bone.
For more information about our procedures including bone grafting visit our treatment video page
To find out more about Bone grafting, please download pdf from South African Society of Maxillo Facial and Oral Surgeons (SASMFOS) website