A bone graft is used to replace bone that was lost due one or more factors: a facial accident causing bone loss to the jaw, traumatic teeth removal, gum disease, cysts, and/or tumors.

Bone augmentation or grafts, 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 (adding) bone or bonelike materials to the jaw. The graft can be your own bone or be processed bone (off the shelf) obtained from a cadaver, a cow, or coral from the sea. After grafting, you have to wait several months for the grafted material to fuse with the existing bone. "Off–the-shelf" grafted 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 that change into bone where it was placed in your jaw.

Several different procedures can be used for bone augmentation. Dr. Schuman will discuss your particular problem and present you with several options, and the pros and cons of each type of graft and type of bone.

Success of Bone Grafting

The success rate for bone grafts in the jaws for the purpose of placing dental implants is very high. However, there is always a chance that the bone graft will fail, however, that is pretty rare. If a graft should fail, Dr. Schuman will remove the graft, let the area heal, and perhaps place a different graft. After bone augmentation, dentists usually wait four to nine months before placing implants