Bone Grafting

Missing teeth, facial trauma, birth defects, or taking certain medications can cause facial bone to deteriorate. Healthy facial bone is necessary for proper oral function, pleasing aesthetics, and in order to receive dental implants. At Breakwater Oral Maxillofacial Surgery & Dental Implants, Dr. Larson offers bone and soft tissue grafting to restore health and harmony to the mouth, jaws, and face. Contact our office in Norton Shores, MI, today to schedule a consultation and to receive your customized oral surgery treatment plan.

How Bone Grafting Works

Bone grafting is a minor surgical procedure that we perform in our pristine and comfortable office. During your first visit, we will take 3D scans of your facial structures to assess the condition of the jaw bone and surrounding tissues. After making a small incision in the area where more bone is desired, Dr. Larson will place the grafting material.

The graft acts as a scaffold and your body will heal around it. Eventually, your body absorbs the grafting material and replaces it with new bone or tissue. The material used for a bone graft may be taken from your own body (autogenous), a cadaver (allograft), an animal, such as a cow (xenograft), or made of synthetic material (alloplast).

Bone Grafting Prior to Dental Implant Placement

Dental implants are a natural-looking, fully functioning tooth replacement option that requires a solid foundation. If the jaw bone is too weak or if there isn’t enough bone to support the implant, the implant may fail. Bone grafting helps create a strong foundation for implants by rebuilding the jaw bone and is often a part of the dental implant treatment plan for patients who have experienced bone loss.

Prior to placing a dental implant, we will insert bone grafting material to create more bone where it is needed. After the graft heals, you will be ready to receive your dental implants. By using a variety of bone grafting techniques, we help more patients become candidates for implant-based tooth restoration.

What Causes Jaw Bone Loss?

Bone loss in the jaw occurs when teeth are missing. Teeth roots are embedded in the jaw and stimulate the bone during chewing, keeping it healthy. When teeth are absent, the jaw bone does not receive stimulation and deteriorates over time. Dental implants are the only tooth replacement option that fuses to the jaw bone, stimulating the bone in the same way as natural teeth roots. By replacing missing teeth with dental implants, you prevent jaw bone loss and promote better oral health.

Types of Bone Grafting Procedures

There are many treatments available to rebuild bone and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial regions. Dr. Larson will create a custom treatment plan based on your individual needs and walk you through each step of your oral surgery care. To ensure your comfort during any procedure, we offer many anesthesia and sedation options to choose from.

Socket Preservation

This bone graft is placed immediately following extraction. By filling the empty socket, it helps maintain the size and shape of the socket and makes future implant placement easier. This procedure is also called ridge preservation.

Ridge Augmentation

If the jaw bone is too thin to support implants, ridge augmentation is performed to increase the width and volume of the bone.

Sinus Lift

When upper back teeth are missing, it can be difficult to place an implant because of insufficient bone and the proximity to the sinus. A sinus lift or sinus augmentation increases the amount of bone in the upper jaw. To make room for the new bone, we move or “lift” the sinus membrane to insert the grafting material.

Major Bone Grafting

Facial injuries or congenital defects may require more extensive bone grafting treatment. For a major bone grafting procedure, we will harvest the patient’s own bone from their skull, hip, knee, or other site. This procedure is performed in an operating room and often requires a hospital stay.

Bone Grafting in Norton Shores, MI

Dr. Larson stays at the forefront of technological advancements in his field to provide patients with exceptional care. By offering a variety of bone and soft tissue grafting treatments, we make dental implants an option for more patients and treat a range of oral and maxillofacial conditions. To schedule your appointment at Breakwater Oral Maxillofacial Surgery & Dental Implants and learn about the oral surgery services we provide, contact our office in Norton Shores, MI, today.