Who Needs Dental Bone Grafting?
A dental bone graft is a process performed to augment the amount of bone in a part of the jaw where bone resorption has occurred or where additional bone is required. The bone needed on the grafting might be taken from other parts of the body and surgically fused to the existing bone in the jaw. Synthetic bone materials are also used in some cases.
A dental bone graft helps if other procedures like dental implants are needed or if bone resorption affects the health of the neighboring gums and teeth. Please continue reading to learn how bone grafts function, the procedure for bone grafts, and the results from the process.
What Does a Bone Growth Do?
Bone grafts are helpful to augment lost bone due to one or more missing teeth or gum disease. These conditions cause bone loss in the jawbone. There are different ways bone grafting treatment in South Austin is done. However, the basic procedure remains the same. Dentists make incisions in the jaw and attach other bone material to it.
The preferred dental bone graft approach is to use the bone from your hip, tibia, or the back of the jaw. Autografts are the name of this approach which is the gold standard as it increases bony support in the jaw promotes faster healing and new bone formation.
Bone grafting treatment in South Austin is performed using autografts, allografts, xenografts, and alloplasts. Unfortunately, the ideal bone reconstruction material hasn’t been determined, according to a study in 2019. However, promising bone grafting materials with the help of cells, growth factors, and gene modifying drugs are over the horizon.
What Is the Procedure for a Bone Graft?
If you must have a bone graft, you receive anesthesia from the dentist in South Austin before the procedure, and your vital signs are monitored throughout the process. After receiving anesthesia, the dental technician cleans the affected area. Next, your surgeon makes incisions in the gums to separate them from the bone where the graft placement is planned.
The surgeon places the bone material between the two sections of bone that need to fuse together. The bone graft is secured with special screws, membrane, or dissolvable adhesive material. The incision is sutured to begin healing.
Recovery and After-Care after Dental Bone Graft
After undergoing the procedure for a dental bone graft, you leave the dentist’s office with gauze packed around the incision in your mouth. You receive instructions for changing the dressing after 24 hours besides antibiotics to help prevent infections. You might also receive a prescription for pain killers.
Other post-operative care tips include applying ice packs to help reduce swelling and pain for the initial 48 hours and eating soft and bland foods for a few days. You also receive instructions to sleep with your head elevated during the first couple of nights to prevent blood pooling into the surgical site.
During your recovery, you must avoid scorching liquids like coffee and soup and refrain from having crunchy foods like nuts. Physical activity, including contact sports, is better avoided as it may put the incision at risk.
After a week after dental bone grafting, the dull pain in your jaw will subside, making way for mild discomfort to give you the feeling that the surgical site is improving. Your jaw starts feeling normal after a few weeks. However, you require a few months before your jaw is strong enough for implant placements. You must plan on regular visits to the dentist near me for x-rays to assess your recovery during this time.
Are There Any Side Effects of Dental Bone Grafts?
The most familiar side effects of dental bone grafts from the dentist in 78745 include pain and swelling. However, the discomfort is comfortably manageable by using ice packs and over-the-counter painkillers. In some cases, people may need prescription-strength medications to deal with the pain.
Other familiar side effects include minor bleeding and challenges when chewing and speaking for the initial few days. Although the procedure is safe and tolerated, risks exist. Infections are a concern with all surgical procedures. Therefore it is incredibly essential to take the entire course of antibiotics. Unusual but severe potential side effects may include blood clots, nerve damage, anesthesia complications, and rejection of the bone graft.
Conclusion
Dental bone grafts are performed to help prevent long-term health concerns associated with tooth loss and gum disease and provide adequate bone material to support dental implants. Following your dentist’s guidelines during the recovery will help minimize your chances of developing problems after the procedure and improve your odds of maintaining good dental health later.
If you suffer from periodontal disease or have lost a couple of teeth and need bone grafts, please schedule an appointment with Lifetime Smiles Cosmetic Dentistry to receive the bone augmentation procedure to maintain good dental health.