Why You May Need A Bone Graft After An Extraction

Bone graft surgery can help improve the health of your smile and if you recently had an extraction you may want to consider a bone graft procedure. It can be stressful to have a tooth extracted and you may be wondering, when you meet with Dr. Denine Rice and her team, now what? When you extract the tooth what is going to happen with my smile?

A bone graft procedure is usually completed immediately after an extraction to make sure you have healthy and enough bone where the tooth was extracted. Many times the reason for a lost tooth in infection which is in the bone. A bone graft cleans out infected tissue and replaces it with health bone. A bone graft procedure at the time of extraction can decrease the overall surgical procedures you need to have, and so can mean financial savings for you. If you have an extraction done and do not have the bone graft procedure, you may end up having to have a procedure later if you are moving forward with an implant or a denture, or you may notice that as the area heals shrinkage of bone that becomes that much more difficult to correct.

A bone graft procedure at the time of an extraction can also help hold your implant if you are doing an immediate placement. This procedure allows Dr. Rice and her team to have a wider ridge to work with when completing your implant procedure and will help ensure your implant will hold for years to come. 

For more information about bone graft procedures, contact Dr. Rice and her team today!

Why do I need Bone Grafting?

Bone Grafting is the replacement of bone into the site where an extraction has occurred. “Not everyone who has an extraction will be advised that bone grafting is necessary,” says Dr. Denine Rice. “It has little value if the tooth that is lost is a wisdom tooth, but if the extracted tooth was located in the front of the mouth, or was lost due to periodontal infection or trauma it might just be in your best interest to consider having it done.”

Bone grafting can be done with either harvested, natural bone or using a synthetic bone substitute. “Over time bone recedes, in order to maintain a healthy level of bone for tooth replacement, it is generally recommended a bone graft occur as quickly as possible after the extraction,” adds Dr. Rice, from Riverside Periodontics. 

While most people think of bone grafting and implant surgery together, even if you haven’t decided on an eventual restoration, you may want the bone level to stay stable. This can really be critical especially when the lost tooth is due to trauma and there is significant damage or if the area of concern is in the front of the mouth as cosmetics may be compromised long term.  And having a smile that radiates health is just one more way you can feel more confident out in the world.