Bone grafting treatments are dental procedures that help strengthen the jawbone to allow dental implants to be placed or prevent other teeth from falling out. If you have missing teeth, you can replace them with dental implants, as they provide a sturdy alternative tooth replacement. The implants are drilled into the jawbone. When you have a bone graft, you make your jaw strong and able to hold the dental implant in place. Often bone grafting procedures use bone picked from another area of your body and inserted into the jawbone. You may have bone grafting replacements that are artificially produced and placed to offer more strength to your jaw. If you are looking forward to achieving a glorious smile through bone grafting treatment, you may want to visit a specialist in bone grafts in The Woodlands to find out your grafting options. Following are some circumstances that bone grafting would be needed:
Cavity reduces your tooth
If a cavity reduces your tooth, leaving an empty, gummy space following an extraction, you may want to consider bone grafting. After tooth extraction, the jawbone can be reduced by about 25 percent within the first year. Not treating the problem for an extended period would mean that you will not have enough surrounding jawbone that can support a dental implant when you want to replace the missing tooth. If there is not sufficient bone mass, it is impossible to reverse it, so a bone graft is needed.
Loss of adult tooth
When you lose your tooth when you are an adult, it will not regrow. You are left with space without teeth. The jawbone underneath that space may begin to deteriorate or weaken. If you need to have an implant in the future, you may require a bone graft to strengthen the already weakened jawbone. This will ensure that the implant you get is firmly placed and remains in position.
Periodontal disease
Developing periodontal disease may cause the jawbone to disintegrate, leading to tooth loss. Bacteria may continue to eat away at your jawbone as well as the periodontal ligaments connecting your teeth to your jawbone. To help strengthen your jawbone, a bone grafting procedure may be required.
Dental trauma
Trauma involving dental parts, including persistent clenching and grinding of teeth, can excessively wear the tissue that supports the tooth structure. Grinding or clenching of teeth creates pressure that could crack or fracture your teeth. The cracked or fractured teeth may not heal. Dental trauma may also involve your tooth being knocked out from a fall or accident. In these situations, you may need to have bone grafting to make the jawbone stronger and allow implants to be done.
These are some of the situations you would require a bone grafting procedure. Bone grafting can also help prevent the teeth surrounding a missing tooth from falling out. So, if you have a missing tooth and have not replaced it, you can have a bone graft to help secure and protect the remaining teeth and to prevent future complications of the other teeth becoming loose and falling out due to lack of healthy bone regeneration.
Consult your dentist to learn more about bone grafts.