Todd Britten,
DMD, M.S. , a board-certified periodontist, places bone grafts for patients suffering from
bone loss in the jawbone, which occurs when teeth are missing and are no longer
stimulating the bone. Dental implants are often used to replace teeth and can
stimulate the jawbone, but when there is not enough jaw bone to hold the
implants, the dental procedure of bone grafting may be done first to provide
security for the implants.
Dr. Todd Britten
recommends bone grafting procedures for patients with missing teeth who need additional
jaw bone support for the placement of dental implants. Bone grafting is recommended when bone loss is extreme.
The bone grafting
procedure takes bone from non-essential areas of the patient's body and
transplants it into the area of the jaw where the dental implants will be located. In most cases, allografts are used. Allografts are taken from a bone bank where
human bone from cadavers has been donated and xenografts are taken from animal
bone. Autogenous grafts come from the patient.
The new bone is surgically placed in the jaw area where it is required
and may be supplemented by the patient's bone marrow mixed with a grafting
material. The incision is closed using sutures, and the area is allowed to
heal. Local anesthesia is all that is
needed in most cases, however, Dr. Britten offers different forms of sedation
dentistry, including IV conscious sedation.
The dental bone graft
then heals completely prior to proceeding with other procedures, such as the
placement of dental implants. This will generally take about four to six months. Once the area
completely heals, the patient can be evaluated for the placement of dental
implants. This often can be done with an
examination and radiograph and sometimes a ConeBeam CT scan can be
performed. The implants are made of titanium
(the same material used in many replacement
hips and knees), a metal that is well suited to pairing with human bone. Patients interested in these procedures should locate additional
information at http://www.clearwater-periodontist.com
or www.brittenperio.com.