01 Mar How Bone Grafting Strengthens Your Smile
When you lose your natural teeth, this could cause the loss of mass and density in the jaw. These weakened structures could limit your ability to receive dental implants, and could also cause an older appearance. With our team at Charlottesville Oral Surgery & Dental Implant Centers, we can improve your smile with ridge augmentation, also known as jawbone grafting.
Tooth Loss and Weakened Jaw Structure
When we lose our teeth, the body takes notice. Without these tooth roots, the body will stop sending the regular doses of calcium and phosphorus to the area around the missing root. Denied these essential nutrients, the area begins to weaken and gradually breakdown. This could lead to further tooth loss and also an older overall appearance. This also limits your ability to receive dental implants to address the gaps in your smile, as there simply isn’t enough structure to support them. For optional esthetics and a lifelike tooth replacement, you need to strengthen these weakened portions of your smile.
Preparing Your Smile
Our team will start with a detailed examination using advanced imaging technology, so we can assess the factors behind your tooth loss and address them. In addition, we can assess the strength of your jawbone and plan the ridge augmentation process, so we can rebuild what has been lost and offer a stronger smile that is ready to receive one or more dental implants. We could offer a minor procedure to address small weaknesses in the one portion, or a major one to address more severe cases. This one may require an inpatient stay in a hospital. We could also offer ridge expansion, and for the upper jaw, we could conduct a sinus lift to uncover new materials in the rear of your upper jaw.
The Grafting Process
Our team will offer anesthesia and sedation to ensure you’re comfortable and relaxed during treatment, and that this is a comfortable experience for you. We will attach the new structures to the exposed bone, where it can bond and off new structures that support dental implants. We could use a Recombinant Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP), which is a protein your body uses to repair the bone tissue. This ensures the growth of structure and can create new bone in as little as six months. This is often used in place of autologous bone, which is taken from other parts of your own body, such as the rear jaw, knee, or hip.
Find Out More About Jawbone Grafting With Charlottesville Oral Surgery & Dental Implant Centers
A ridge augmentation can help rebuild and protect your smile. Set aside some time to meet with our team at Charlottesville Oral Surgery & Dental Implant Centers by calling us at (434) 282-2275 at our Charlottesville-Berkshire location today!