After losing one or more teeth, the most obvious part of restoring your smile involves replacing them with highly lifelike, durable replacements. However, there’s often more to restoring a smile than patients often realize, especially when it comes to rebounding from the effects of tooth loss. For example, replacing the roots of lost teeth can be more important than people may realize, and so may fortifying the jawbone with surgical grafting before rebuilding their smiles.
The point of surgical jawbone grafting
Grafting natural jawbone structure describes bonding a small amount of donor bone structure to the dental ridge. The point of the procedure is to strengthen the jawbone by fortifying it and restoring some of the mass and density that it has lost. This loss can occur for a number of different reasons, but the most common is the loss of your natural teeth roots. The roots of your teeth are vital to stimulating the jawbone structure when you bite and chew, and this stimulation is the key to the healthy flow of nutrients that your jawbone relies on.
When is the procedure usually recommended?
The need for a strong and healthy jawbone is something everyone shares, but the need to directly address a loss of jawbone mass and density stems from very specific reasons. For example, if you’ve lost some of your jawbone structure because of tooth loss, then you may plan on restoring your smile by replacing your lost teeth with dental implants. This can reestablish the stimulation in your dental ridge and help you prevent any further loss of bone mass and density. If your jawbone has already grown weaker, however, then you may require jawbone grafting to strengthen it in preparation first.
Deciding if jawbone grafting is a good idea
The surgical nature of jawbone grafting means that your oral health specialist will only recommend it when it’s absolutely necessary for restoring your smile. To help you decide if jawbone grafting is a good idea, we’ll perform a comprehensive examination to gauge the mass and density of your jawbone, and whether or not it needs fortification before you can receive dental implant posts.
Find out if you can benefit from jawbone grafting
To improve the appearance, strength, and integrity of your jawbone after it’s lost some mass and density, grafting may be an optimal solution. To learn more, schedule a consultation with us by calling the office of Dr. Stuart Dexter in Prairie Village, KS, today at 913-362-8200.