Bone Morphogenic Protein

When you lose your teeth, several things begin to occur. Obvious effects of tooth loss include difficulty biting and chewing as well as trouble speaking properly.

Tooth loss can have a significant impact on the quality of your smile. Under the gums, tooth loss also impacts your jawbone. Over time, the bone begins to lose mass, which causes it to grow weak. While implants are a popular treatment for replacing missing teeth, they rely on your jawbone for success. At Optimum Oral Surgery Group, we can help to restore bone mass in your jaw with bone morphogenic protein.

Bone Loss and Dental Implants

Your teeth provide stimulation for your jawbone. When you chew, the teeth stimulate the bone, which tells the body to send essential nutrients. Losing teeth means that your jawbone loses stimulation.

Over time, fewer nutrients are sent, which leads to bone loss. For implants to be placed, you need to have enough bone mass remaining in your jaw. If the bone is too weak, the bone cannot properly fuse to the posts. In some cases, the bone may not fuse at all. These issues can lead to loose implants, unstable restorations, and even implant failure.

Bone Grafting for Implants

Bone grafting is a common procedure used to restore missing bone mass in your jaw. This can be done in one of a few different ways, using your bone, using donor's bone, or even using the bone of a cow.

These procedures are, with proper aftercare, are highly effective at restoring the strength of your jawbone. Healing from these types of procedures, however, can take several months to complete.

What is Bone Morphogenic Protein?

Bone morphogenic protein, or BMP, is a type of synthetic grafting material. It is a type of protein that works to promote the formation of bone. BMP is applied to a collagen sponge that is placed in the weak areas of the jaw. The protein triggers the body to begin restoring and calcifying new bone material. In just a few months, we measure the growth of new bone.

If we do not see adequate growth, additional BMP soaked collagen sponges can be placed. In most cases, in only takes about six months for enough bone to regenerate, allowing us to begin the process for dental implants. BMP can also be placed following the placement of your posts to help speed up the osseointegration process.

Benefits and Drawbacks to Bone Morphogenic Protein

One of the biggest benefits of bone morphogenic protein is that it is much less invasive, greatly reducing the recovery time. Bleeding, swelling, and other post-surgical complications associated with traditional bone grafting is reduced.

Additionally, because your body produces its bone material, there is no risk of rejection. The biggest disadvantage of this procedure is that it typically costs more than traditional treatment. During your initial consultation, we go over all of your options, helping you review the benefits and risks of each procedure and determine the best one to meet your needs.

Bone mass is essential for the stability of dental implants. With bone morphogenic protein, we can help you to regenerate bone mass, restoring the strength of your jaw and increasing implant success. Another way to strengthen your jaw is through jaw surgery. For more information, call Optimum Oral Surgery Group at (856) 437-4432 today.