Bone Grafting

Bone grafting offers the opportunity to increase bone volume and density and is among the services available from Robert A. Scherrer, DMD, and the team at Advanced Dental Care of Ridgewood in Ridgewood, New Jersey. If you’re curious about how bone grafting can enhance your dental health, call or click to schedule a visit online today.  

What is bone grafting?

Bone grafting is a treatment that helps build up bone tissue in a targeted area. In dental applications, grafting enhances the volume or density of bone tissue in the jaw. The treatment usually follows significant bone loss, although some people are born with less bone in their jaw than others. 

Grafting is a surgical procedure that works by placing tissue alongside your natural bone. Over time, your bone cells fuse to the implanted tissue, creating strength and thickness in your jaw. 

An autogenous graft is when bone from another part of your body is used for the graft. An allograft procedure uses bone tissue from a human donor, and a xenograft procedure uses tissue from an animal donor.  

When is bone grafting the right treatment approach?

Bone grafting is useful in various scenarios. Some of the circumstances in which your dentist might recommend bone grafting include:

• In preparation for getting dentures
• In preparation for getting dental implants
• To replace tissue lost due to periodontal (gum) disease
• After having a tooth extracted

If your dentist feels you could benefit from bone grafting, feel free to ask questions as you explore your options. At Advanced Dental Care of Ridgewood, there is never any pressure to choose one treatment path over another, and patient education is always honest and straightforward. 

What is the recovery process like after bone grafting?

Recovering from any form of oral surgery requires patience and lots of self-care. It’s important to give your body the rest and support it needs to heal after any form of tissue alteration, and bone grafting is no exception. 

Begin by following all of the instructions provided by your dental care team. If you receive antibiotics, take the entire prescription as advised. 

A degree of swelling, discomfort, and bruising is normal in the first few days after your procedure. Over-the-counter pain medication is usually all that’s needed to manage discomfort. 

Be sure to consider your nutrition and lifestyle habits. Smoking robs your body of the circulation needed to heal, so finding a way to quit can yield dramatic improvements in healing. Choosing nutrient-dense foods will also help. 

If you’d like to learn more about bone grafting, call the office to schedule a visit or book online in just a few clicks.