Although bone grafting sounds like a complex and intensive treatment, it is one of the best tools oral surgeons have to preserve your health.

Here at Kokomo Implant and Oral Surgery, we use a variety of grafting techniques to help our patients restore their beautiful smiles and healthy mouths.

When we lose natural teeth, whether it’s one tooth or all of them, the jawbone below begins to degrade. This bone loss occurs because the body attempts to absorb the bone.

Bone loss can also occur as the result of facial injury, like those suffered in car accidents and from sports injuries. In other cases, gum disease, congenital defects or tumor removal may be the cause.

Whatever the reason for bone inadequacy, it can result in variety of complications, virtually all of which can compromise your overall health, well-being and appearance.

Preserve Your Oral Health and Looks with Bone Grafts

When bone degrades in the mandible (jawbone), the first sign is typically a change in your facial appearance.

Without the bony structure of the mandible, the lower portions of the face become sunken, taking on the appearance that is commonly associated with denture wearers. In addition, the lips can appear to collapse inward, once they lack sufficient support.

Dentures or bridgework can become loose, making it difficult to bite, chew or speak clearly. As a result, you may have pain or discomfort that requires a change in diet.

Once jawbone loss becomes pervasive, you’re no longer a candidate for dental implants, at least not until the underlying bone structure is restored through a graft.

Bone Grafting for Sinus Lift and Ridge Augmentation

Ridge augmentation is a relatively minor procedure that reinforces or augments the bone structure for individual tooth roots.

If you plan to have individual implants, this procedure ensures that the jawbone is substantial and strong enough to successfully hold the titanium posts that support the dental implants.

The sinus lift procedure, performed on the upper portion of the jaw, is often necessary prior to the placement of upper dental implants. Once upper teeth are removed, you may be left with only a small layer of bone between the teeth and the sinus cavity. If this bony layer is insufficient to support implants, it can be easily augmented with a bone graft.

Revolutionary Bone Graft Technology Is Simple and Painless

Today, our patients have no reason to fear the bone grafting procedure.

Most bone grafts are performed in our office under safe and effective IV sedation. More extensive procedures may be done in an outpatient surgery center, but either way, you’ll be able to go home and resume your normal activities almost immediately.

Depending on how much bone you need, we may harvest some from another portion of your jaw or chin. In other cases, if we need a significant amount of tissue, we may take some from the hip or tibia (shin).

Today, however, we have the option of growing bone tissue as well, using your own stem cells or a technique that utilizes platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

Our practice is conveniently located in Kokomo, but we also serve patients from Tipton, Russiaville, Galveston and the surrounding communities. Contact us today to learn more about how bone grafting can benefit you.