New Dental Implant Techniques Eliminate Bone Grafting

By R.S. Mayberry, DDS

Mayberry Dental

. https://www.mayberrydental.com/

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New Dental Implant Techniques Eliminate Bone Grafting

Dental implants have become the new standard of care in dentistry for replacing missing or failing teeth. Grinding down healthy natural teeth as supports for bridgework can be eliminated in most cases. The complications associated with grinding down healthy teeth used to support bridge work, like nerve death, abscess, and decay around hard to clean bridge supports can be eliminated too.

All in all using dental implants instead of bridgework to replace missing or failing teeth has greatly improved the long term success rates not previously seen. Dental implants are not subject to decay like natural teeth, nor does the gum tissue around implants typically respond to implants like natural teeth resulting in a more inflammation free environment.

In fact, new bone growth over time is often seen around dental implants; something that is rarely if ever witnessed around natural teeth. But even with these benefits, dental implant treatment can have other complicating issues.

Previously the most common complication around dental implant treatment was the lack of supporting bone. Bone shrinks away after natural teeth are removed and then there may not be sufficient bone to support implants.

In situations like this, dentists have told patients that they did not have enough bone remaining to be candidates for implant treatment, or that they could have implants, but only after bone grafting procedures were accomplished provided such procedures worked out.

Many patients had bone grafting done at the time of tooth removal, then waited months for the bone to heal before having another surgery to place the implants, then waiting months for the implants to heal before getting new teeth on the implants. Techniques like this are still commonplace in dentistry today, but there are other quicker and easier options. Newer techniques and skills have allowed the elimination of previously recommended bone grafting in many cases, which leads to quicker replacement of missing teeth at lower cost.

The best time to place dental implants is the same day a natural tooth is removed. Extracting a tooth, then waiting for the site to heal typically results in less bone to support the implant, even when bone grafting is done at time of extraction.

Newer techniques used to place implants at the time of tooth removal eliminate bone grafting, resulting in quicker healing time, and lower cost. The success rates for these newer techniques are comparable to the older more time consuming techniques. When bone grafting is required, in many cases it can be done at the same time implants are placed, here again reducing overall treatment time

and cost.

As the science of dental implant treatment techniques improves, overall procedures are becoming easier and more affordable for patients to receive the most predictable and long term successful option modern dentistry has to offer, dental implant treatment.