Bone augmentation/bone graft is a term that describes a variety of procedures used to build bone so that dental implants can be placed. These procedures typically involve grafting bone or bonelike materials to the jaw. The graft can be your own bone or be processed bone. After grafting, you have to wait several months for the grafted material to fuse with the existing bone. Process bone materials either cause surrounding bone to grow into the graft or cause cells around the graft to change into bone. A graft from your own bone transplants bone cells or a block of bone that fuses to the jaw.
Bone augmentation often performed in our office using local anesthesia to numb the area that will be involved, sometimes a long with IV sedation to remove anxiety. After the procedure, you will usually be given antibiotics, pain medication if needed, and an antibacterial mouthwash, and instructed not to eat certain food and putting pressure on the bone grafting area. Once the grafted bone has fused and become strong, integrated part of the surrounding bone, you implant will be placed. After bone augmentation, our dentists usually wait four to nine months before placing implants.