Bone Grafting

Losing bone density in your jaw can feel like losing part of your confidence. It can affect how you eat, speak, and even smile. Bone grafting can restore more than just strength to your jaw; it can restore your hope for a healthy, complete smile.

Dental implants are a great way to replace one or more missing teeth; however, without enough healthy bone structure to support the implant, you may not be eligible for an implant procedure. By rebuilding the foundation beneath your gums, bone grafting paves the way for implant placement and gives you the comfort of knowing your oral health is back on track.

At Ladue Family Dental, our experienced team can assess your oral health and customize a treatment plan to help you restore your smile’s beauty and function.

When you visit our dental office for an implant consultation, we’ll use the latest 3-D imaging technology to assess your oral health. If you don’t have sufficient bone density to support a dental implant, we may recommend a bone grafting procedure first.

Here are the steps to the procedure:

• Anesthesia — First, we’ll use a local anesthetic to numb your mouth completely. You won’t feel anything during the grafting procedure.
• Incision — Next, we’ll make an incision in your gums to expose your jawbone, giving us the access we need to place the bone graft material.
• Cleaning and disinfecting — Before placing the grafting material, we’ll remove any bacteria or debris that may be in the way.
• Attaching the bone grafting material — Now, we’ll take the bone grafting material, which comes from your body or a donor, and attach it to your jawbone.
• Covering the graft — A special membrane is placed on the grafting material to protect it.
• Repositioning the gums — Then, we’ll carefully reposition your gums to their original position.
• Stitching the gums — The final step involves stitching the area closed.
• Healing — We’ll give you specific instructions on how to care for the area. Once it heals, we can begin your implant procedure.

If you’d like to learn more about bone grafting and whether dental implants might be a good tooth replacement option, please get in touch with the Ladue Family Dental team at (314) 991-0722. If you’re in good health and don’t have serious dental concerns, we can make dental implants a reality!

We look forward to hearing from you.