Dental bone graft is used to maintain or build back up volume of bone where a tooth may be missing or will be taken out. Dental implants are much more commonly recommended for missing teeth nowadays than dental bridges, which require adequate volume of bone. The surrounding bone is what allows your body to grow around the dental implant and the ability for a tooth to be placed on top for you to chew on.
When a tooth is removed, dental bone graft prevents the bone from collapsing and healing with a defect. Dental bone graft allows for a scaffolding for your body to naturally heal and maintain the volume density in the area. Bone healing can take, on average, 3-6 months before an implant is ready to be placed in the area, but this can depend on your health, medications and your body’s ability to heal.
There are many different sources of bone that can be used. Your own bone would be the most ideal, but can be invasive to retrieve it. The type of bone graft used can depend on the site and the amount of missing bone you might have. Dr. Taher is thoroughly trained in dental bone grafting and he would be happy to answer all your questions on the topic.