Replacing missing teeth is essential for restoring your smile, your oral health, and your quality of life.
Dental implants have quickly become the most popular treatment for achieving these goals. However, in order for the implants to be successful, it is important that you have sufficient bone mass remaining in your jaw. If your jawbone is too weak to support dental implants, Optimum Oral Surgery Group can help with a ridge augmentation.
What are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are a modern solution for tooth loss, providing you with an alternative to traditional bridges and
dentures. This particular treatment uses small titanium posts that provide support for your replacement teeth. To place the posts, a surgical procedure is needed. Small holes are drilled into the bone and the posts placed inside. As you heal from surgery, the bone fuses to posts, stabilizing them within your jaw so that they can provide secure support for your new teeth.
Bone Loss and Dental Implants
While dental implants are incredibly popular and have a very high success rate, they do rely on your bone mass for stability. However, following tooth loss, your jawbone begins to lose mass and grow weak. This is a result of the lack of stimulation from your teeth. When you chew, your teeth stimulate the bone, which tells the body that nutrients are needed. Following tooth loss, you lose stimulation. The body responds by sending fewer nutrients. When the bone is too weak, it cannot successfully support dental implant posts, which can then lead to implant failure.
What is a Ridge Augmentation?
A ridge augmentation is a surgical procedure that is performed to restore strength to your jaw. This particular procedure is performed when your jaw has lost a significant amount of bone mass and is done to restore strength while also rebuilding height, width, and mass to the jaw. To do this, a bone graft is used.
Types of Bone Grafts for a Ridge Augmentation
There are several different types of
bone grafts that may be used for ridge augmentation. These include:
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Autografts. An autograft uses your bone mass, which is harvested from another area of your body such as the hip or tibia.
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Allografts. An allograft uses bone mass harvested from another human. The bone is screened before use to ensure safety.
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Xenografts. A xenograft uses bone mass harvested from another species, generally a cow or a pig. The bone is processed at high temperatures for safety.
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Synthetic bone grafting materials. Materials like demineralized bone matrix or bone morphogenic proteins may be used in some situations. |
Undergoing a Ridge Augmentation
A ridge augmentation requires a surgical procedure. After receiving a local anesthetic and
sedation, incisions are made in your gums to expose the bone underneath. We then place the grafting material into your jaw. Once we have finished, your surgical wounds are sutured closed, and you go home to begin the healing process. As you heal, your existing bone mass fuses to the grafting material, restoring strength to your jaw. After you have fully healed, we can then begin the process of placing your dental implants.
With a ridge augmentation, we can restore height, width, and strength to your jawbone, which then helps to increase the success and stability of dental implants.
Call Optimum Oral Surgery Group at (856) 437-4432 today for more information.
