Bone Grafting
St. George, UT
 Bone grafting is a procedure where we can use donated or synthetic bone material to replace sections of your natural bone that you have lost due to disease or injury. This procedure is often performed in preparation for dental implant surgery in order to ensure that your jaw can support the dental implants. There are several types of bone grafts that we can use at Precision Dental Specialties in addition to tissue regeneration, to strengthen your jaw.
Most crafting materials can be done using your own bone harvested from another area, or cadaver bone. Most commonly however we use xenograft material. These materials are harvested from animals, usually cows. The bone then goes through a complex process of breaking it down to its basic components. The bone material is then used to construct a bone matrix that is practically identical to human bone. They also add peptides and enzymes that stimulate your body to break down those materials and replace it with your own new high-density bone. This provides an excellent way of stimulating your body to grow new bone where it is needed without having to harvest it from another location. These graphs are highly successful and have very few complications. Because these materials are simply poured out of a model, they caused no significant trauma and thus greatly simplify the overall healing experience.
Types of Bone Grafts
We work with four different types of bone grafts; xenograft tissue, alloplast bone graft, autograft tissue, and allograft tissue. Xenografts are taken from animals. These are very readily available and can transform into your own natural bone tissue. However, they do not stimulate bone formation. Alloplast bone grafts are made of synthetic material. These are also easy to obtain and can transform into your own natural bone tissue, but they do not stimulate bone growth. Autograft tissues are taken from one part of your body to be transplanted in the jaw. These have very high success rates and low risk for complications, but they are more invasive. Allograft tissues are donated from cadavers. These are a bit higher risk but still have very high success rates.
Placing the Bone Graft
Our oral surgeon will consult with you and get dental x-rays prior to the procedure. Together, you will decide which type of bone graft to use. On the day of surgery, you will receive general anesthesia to keep you comfortable during the procedure.
This surgery begins with our oral surgeon making an incision where the graft will be placed. They will place the graft and shape it to match the area. The bone graft is then held in place with a variety of tools, such as pins, plates, screws, wires, and cables. After confirming that the graft is held securely, our oral surgeon will close your incision using stitches. They will apply bandages as necessary.
You will receive more specific instructions following your bone graft surgery. The time it takes to heal is very dependent on your specific health condition. So, it could take weeks or even months before the graft recovery is complete. We may recommend using ice and over-the-counter pain medication to alleviate inflammation and tenderness during recovery.
Guided Tissue Regeneration
Another procedure that is performed either as an alternative or in addition to bone grafting is guided tissue regeneration. This is a technique used to stimulate the production of new bone tissue.
There are three main steps in this process. First, we perform a flap surgery on your gum to clean the area of any bacteria and place the membrane. This membrane is placed over the top of the damaged bone. This can be placed on its own or with the bone graft.
In the second step, our oral surgeon sutures the incision and gives the membrane healing time to restore the tissue. In the final step, about six months after the placement procedure, our oral surgeon can remove the membrane if it has not dissolved on its own. Call Precision Dental Specialties at 435-522-5629 to ask about bone grafting procedures.
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