If you want to have dental implant, your dentist may suggest you to have bone grafting after checking your oral condition. You may feel surprised of what you heard, but this is not unusual for dental implant. Then what is bone grafting and why some people need this treatment before having implant?

Once a tooth is lost for one reason or another, the jawbone in that position quickly atrophies to a level of what is called “basal bone”. In cases of a complete loss of teeth, this can leave behind only a narrow hoop of bone in the mandible (lower jaw) or a flat pancake of bone in the maxilla (upper jaw). 

Since a dental implant is a titanium post surgically positioned into the jawbone beneath the gum line, you need to have healthy gums and adequate bone to support the implant. If your bone is too thin or soft and unable to support an implant, you may require bone grafting in order to maximize the outcome of dental implant surgery. While this sounds pretty scary at first, the truth is that bone grafting in the oral cavity today is a routine, predictable and painless procedure.

We often use processed bone that has been harvested from animals. This graft is called xenograft and is generally comprised only of the mineral content of natural bone, has been sterilized and has had all organic material removed.

Dental experts also suggest that having implants as soon as you lost your natural teeth is helpful to prevent bone atrophies. Therefore, do not ignore and put off treating your missing tooth, the later you treat, the more procedures you need.