Bone Grafting
Rebuild and Restore Lost Bone
Missing teeth, gum disease, injuries, and other factors can all contribute to jaw bone loss. Without stimulation from the roots of your teeth, the bone in the dental ridge will begin to deteriorate. There must be adequate bone in the jaw to support the full length and width of the implants. Bone grafting can replace bone that has been lost due to tooth loss, facial surgery sites, facial trauma, or other causes. By regrowing lost bone, bone grafts help more people become candidates for dental implants.
If you need bone grafting to repair or restore the bone around your teeth or jaw, our oral surgeons can help. Oral Surgery Group offers several bone grafting procedures and will determine the right treatment for your oral health needs. Contact us in New Brunswick, NJ, East Brunswick, NJ, or Middlesex, NJ, to schedule an appointment with Dr. Engel, Dr. Stern, Dr. Simos, Dr. Stern, Dr. Tanchyk, and Dr. Prabhu.
How Bone Grafting Works
During a bone grafting procedure, your oral surgeon will lift the gums and place a mixture of bone material and growth factors over the area that requires more bone growth. The bone material consists of tiny granules that are taken from either your own bone or a tissue bank. Once the material is applied, your surgeon will suture the gums to protect the area.
Bone grafts provide many benefits, including:
- People who were once told they cannot receive dental implants due to insufficient bone can now become candidates
- Prevent long-term health problems associated with tooth loss
- Greatly improve the aesthetics of restorative treatments, such as dental implants or crowns
Types of Bone Grafting
The type of bone grafting you need largely depends on the shape of your jaw and your overall goals for treatment. When designing your custom treatment plan, we use 3D scans to view the structure of your jaw bone. Prior to any surgical procedure, we will discuss your options for anesthesia or sedation. Some of the most common bone grafting procedures include:
Sinus Lift
Everyone has sinuses above their upper teeth on either side of their nose. These sinuses are hollow, and the wall that separates the sinuses from the roots of the upper molars is very thin. When the upper molars need to be replaced with dental implants, sometimes it is impossible to do so without breaching the sinus or causing other problems. Oral surgeons can place a bone graft between the sinus and the molars, making space for a dental implant to be placed.
A sinus lift creates more space in the sinuses for dental implants that are placed in the upper arch.
Ridge Expansion
When severe bone resorption has occurred, the bony ridge that once held the teeth can become too small to hold dental implants. Your surgeon can divide the ridge bone and insert bone grafting material inside. This expands the ridge and makes space for the eventual placement of implants.
Socket Preservation
When a tooth is extracted, the bone around the empty tooth socket can start to resorb or diminish rapidly. A socket preservation prevents the bone loss that tends to happen shortly after an extraction so that an implant can be planned for a future visit. This is ideal if you are having a tooth extracted but do not plan to immediately replace it with a dental implant.
Major Bone Grafting
Sometimes facial injuries, tumor surgery sites, or birth conditions require bone grafting to restore the facial structure. In these situations, oral surgeons use bone sourced from another part of the patient’s body. Special membranes may be used to help the major bone graft site heal correctly and promote soft tissue regeneration.
Bone Grafting in New Brunswick, East Brunswick, and Middlesex, NJ
We offer bone grafting procedures and dental implants at all three of our locations across central New Jersey. Major bone grafting procedures may be done in a hospital setting, but most minor procedures can be performed in our offices. Feel free to contact one of our offices for more information.
Types of Anesthesia
We offer several types of anesthesia to ensure patients remain comfortable in our care.
Hear From Bone Grafting Patients
These patients can tell you about their firsthand experience undergoing bone grafting at our office.
Reviews From Our Bone Grafting Patients
"Well, I came to Dr. Simos as a recommendation from my own dentist, who I guess had used him for his own parents and his children. So I thought that was a good recommendation, so I've been with Dr. Simos for two dental procedures. For the first procedure, removing two teeth I had worked on – upper left and upper right – putting in the bone grafting material, waiting for quite a while for that to heal, and putting the posts in. No pain, no bleeding, no swelling. Even though I was kind of uncertain in the very beginning, it wound up being a good deal for me. My implants feel much stronger than my natural teeth did. Dr. Simos is a very nice guy. Calm and peaceful guy — kind of fits my personality, as well. The nurses were very attentive and very efficient. The staff was great as far as administration, so I had a good relationship with the whole organization, and I would certainly tell my people to come here as well."
"I had a problem with a tooth that was just bothering me. The dentist I normally use took a look at it and said, "This tooth is shot." He suggested Dr. Simos — someone that he's worked with for a number of years. Dr. Simos' demeanor — he's just laid back, I guess is the best way. He listens to you very attentively, explains what's going on, and then he takes the time to answer any questions you have, explain exactly what's going to be done. The first thing that was done was removing the affected tooth — it was essentially a dead tooth, so it had to come out. They do a bone graft, I think, as a follow-up perhaps a month later, and then several months later, a dental implant is done. Recovery was pretty easy. The staff here in this office is excellent. Everyone is prompt, courteous. I would recommend this group. This is the place to be if you need this sort of work done."
"My general dentist referred me to Dr. Nainesh Desai, who is a prosthodontist, and then he turned me over here with Dr. Simos. My experience over here in Oral Surgery Group was excellent. Dr. Simos [is] a very, very nice doctor. He’s a total gentleman. His attitude toward the patient, and especially toward me, was very nice. [If] any of my friends needs this kind of a procedure to be done in New Brunswick or all the surrounding townships, I will strongly recommend Dr. Simos."
"The reason I came in to see Dr. Stern was actually at home. [I] made myself homemade chicken salad, bit down, and the bone went in and broke my tooth in half. When I first came through the door, it was calming. The team in the office is just fabulous. Dr. Stern is very thorough, under control, and you always feel that you won’t leave the office until he has everything just the way it should be. For my friends and family in North Brunswick, I highly recommend the Oral Surgery Group."
"Dr. Simos does a wonderful job, and I’m very comfortable having him work on my mouth. I have been here several times. He’s done several extractions. I’ve had a bone graft and then an implant put in. They’re pretty comfortable once they’re in. They heal pretty quickly. I think the skill of Dr. Simos facilitates that and makes it happen. He also is very kind and very gentle. The staff is fabulous in the Oral Surgery Group. They’re always kind, and I think kindness is a very special trait. If any of my friends in South Plainfield, New Brunswick, Monroe needed a dental implant, I would highly recommend the Oral Surgery Group."
Decades of Trusted Care
Start your journey to better oral health and a more confident smile at Oral Surgery Group. Our compassionate team of specialists will walk you through every step, answer your questions, and make you feel like a part of our family. Learn more about us or schedule an appointment.