Bone Grafting

Bone grafting is a broad term used to describe the process of inducing bone growth in areas that are deficient. There are multiple reasons to recommend bone grafting, but the majority of the time we are looking to either regrow bone that has been lost due to periodontal disease or rebuild a bony ridge for the purpose of dental implant placement.

 

Bone grafting can be as simple as growing bone in a socket of an extracted tooth (we call this socket preservation) or as difficult as widening the jawbone so it can house a dental implant (we call this ridge augmentation). Dr. Richardson has extensive training with bone grafting and will recommend a technique that will result in the highest chance of success.  

 

Bone grafts can come from several places. Bone grafts can be harvested from the same individual that needs it (autogenous) or purchased from a donor tissue bank (allograft).  Some grafts are harvested from bovine sources (zenograft). The majority of the time, bone grafts are purchased and used from the most reputable tissue banks in the country. The graft material used was once human bone; however, has been processed and completely removed of its components that identify the donor graft from the donor. In other words, it has no cellular components that the recipient's body could possibly identify as once belonging to someone else. Therefore, there is no chance for rejection or disease transmission.

 

Over approximately 90 days, the recipient's body will completely resorb the graft material and replace it with his/her own bone. This is a completely safe and predictable process that is utilized by virtually every dental and orthopedic surgeon on a daily basis. The key to successful bone grafting is choosing the best product for what is trying to be accomplished. The more difficult the procedure, the more specific the bone product that needs to be used. Eustis periodontist, Dr. Richardson, will discuss all of the options and the reasons behind his specific recommendations that fulfill your needs.