How Bone Grafting Works: The North Carolina Implants & Periodontics Approach

When it comes to dental implants and overall oral health, the foundation matters as much as what’s built upon it. At Raleigh NC Implants & Periodontics, we understand that successful dental restorations depend on a healthy foundation of the jawbone and optimal oral hygiene tips for long-lasting periodontal health.

Where it Starts: The Bone Necessities

Your jawbone provides the essential support structure for both your natural teeth and any dental implants you may need. When tooth loss occurs—whether through periodontal diseases, physical trauma, or developmental defects—the bone that once surrounded the tooth root no longer receives the stimulation needed to maintain its density and volume. This leads to a process called resorption, where the body begins to break down and reabsorb the bone tissue.

For patients seeking dental implants or struggling with advanced periodontal disease, bone grafting offers a solution to rebuild this crucial foundation. By restoring proper bone volume and density, bone grafting not only makes implant placement possible but also helps preserve facial aesthetics and oral function for years to come. 

Understanding the Effects of Bone Loss

The timeline of bone loss after extraction is particularly concerning. Within the first three months, you may lose up to 30-50% of the bone height and width in the affected area. This progressive loss continues, albeit at a slower rate, for years afterward.

Beyond the immediate impact on candidacy for dental implant treatments, bone loss can also affect your overall facial structure, function, and appearance. As the jawbone disappears over time, patients often experience:

• A prematurely aged appearance (sunken cheeks and lips)
• Wrinkles around the mouth, chin, and nasolabial area
• Reduced ability to chew
• Changes in speech, including slurring and difficulty enunciating
• Lower nutritional intake due to difficulty eating and chewing

The Science Behind How Bone Grafting Works

At NC Implants & Periodontics, we utilize various types of grafting materials bespoke to each of our patients’ treatment plans, each with their own specific advantages:

• Autografts: Bone harvested from another site in your own body, typically from the chin, the back of the lower jaw, or hip. This provides living bone cells for optimal integration, but does require a second surgical site.
• Allografts: Processed bone from human donors that has been carefully screened and sterilized, allowing them to serve as an excellent scaffolding for the body’s bone to grow into.
• Xenografts: Specially processed bone mineral derived from animals (typically cow or bovine) that closely resembles the human bone structure.
• Alloplasts: Synthetic materials designed to mimic the mineral component of human bone, offering a consistent and reliable alternative to biological materials.

When placed in the deficient treatment area, these materials create a framework that the body can then recognize as a place to grow new bone tissue. Over time, your natural bone cells grow across the graft, gradually replacing it with your own living bone. This process is called “creeping substitution.”

Types of Bone Grafting Procedures

Expanding on each procedure type:

• Socket Preservation: a common procedure performed immediately after a tooth is extracted. The socket (tooth hole) is filled with a bone graft material and covered with a membrane to protect it. This saves the jawbones height and width, making it a much more stable site for a future dental implant
• Ridge Augmentation: when a jawbone has lost its natural shape due to a missing tooth, a ridge augmentation procedure can restore it. This procedure adds graft material to the deficient area and allows the dental team to create a strong, even ridge that makes implant placement possible while improving the aesthetic of the gum and face.
• Sinus Lifts: A sinus lift is necessary when there is not enough bone between the jaw and the sinus cavity. During this procedure, the sinus membrane is gently lifted and bone graft material is placed in the space below it, adding the needed bone height to safely anchor a dental implant.
• Periodontal Bone Grafting: Periodontal disease (gum disease) is a major cause of bone loss around teeth. Periodontal bone grafting regenerates that bone by placing a bone graft in the affected area to encourage new bone growth and reduce the risk of further tooth loss. 

The Bone Grafting Process: What Our Patients Can Expect

The bone grafting patient journey at NC Implants & Periodontics can be broken down into five main steps. 

First, the process starts with a consultation and advanced 3D imaging. This allows us to get a complete picture of your jawbone, so we can create a personalized treatment plan and choose the right graft material for you.

Then, we’ll provide a step-by-step explanation of the procedure, making sure you’re comfortable with local anesthesia and other sedation options. The surgeon will then make a small incision in the gum tissue to access the jawbone. Your surgeon will carefully place the bone graft material and a protective membrane, then close the area with sutures. 

After the procedure, we’ll give you detailed instructions for a smooth recovery. You may experience some minor swelling and discomfort, which can be mitigated with over-the-counter pain medication and cold compresses. We recommend a soft diet for a few days and will show you how to keep the area clean while it heals.

Above all, the bone grafting process requires patience, as your body needs time to integrate the new material and grow new bone. Most patients can expect the initial healing to take a few weeks. However, the graft will need several months, typically 3 to 9 months, to fully fuse with your natural bone. This timeline can vary depending on the type of graft material used and the extent of the procedure.

Finally, the implant placement is scheduled once the bone graft has fully healed and the area is strong enough to support an implant. Our team will use follow-up imaging to confirm that the bone has reached the necessary density. We won’t proceed with implant placement until we are confident that the foundation is stable and ready for a successful, long-lasting implant.

Bone Grafting at NC Implants & Periodontics 

Ultimately, bone grafting is more than just a procedure. It is an essential step towards securing the long term health and function of your smile. Don’t let bone loss compromise your ability to achieve a complete and stable smile.

If you’d like to learn more about our bone graft and gumline treatment plans here at NC Implants & Periodontics, please call (919) 510-8888 or click the button below to book your consultation today!