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Coming to the decision to replace your missing or damaged teeth with dental implants is very exciting. However, here at Royal Dental Care, we encourage patients to temper this excitement because not everyone is physically prepared for dental implants right away. If this happens, supplemental procedures may be utilized to help patients in getting ready for a successful smile make-over.
Solutions For Bone Deterioration Or Gum Recession
Two of the most commonly used supplemental procedures are bone and gum grafting. Both procedures add proper volume in places where healthy and dense tissue is needed. Both procedures also help patients successfully prepare for their dental implant placement. Here are some instances where patients presented challenges to implant placement and how supplemental procedures were able to help them achieve a successful result. All names have been changed to protect the privacy of our patients.
Here are some instances where patients presented challenges to implant placement and how supplemental procedures were able to help them achieve a successful result. All names have been changed to protect the privacy of our patients.
1) Koreen: Gum Recession
Koreen, is a 52-year-old female patient who had four teeth in her upper jaw knocked out as a child. When she lost the teeth, Koreen got a bridge because it was the easiest and least expensive option. Over time, she has become dissatisfied with the look of her tooth replacement option.
Now, she wants a more permanent and attractive solution to replace her missing teeth. However, because she has been missing the teeth for so many years, Koreen is suffering from a lack of sufficient gum tissue. So what can she do to fix this problem?
Even under the best of circumstances, patients like Koreen, can experience significant gum recession after losing one or more teeth. This often leaves areas of the tooth root exposed which can increase the risk of sensitivity, infection, pain, and tooth decay. To assist with this problem, tissue grafting was created to help make gums resistant to recession.
What Is Tissue Grafting?
When patients choose tissue grafting, a piece of healthy gum tissue is harvested and a small incision is made. The graft material is then attached to the area that needs volume and the patient is sent home to heal. The graft then preserves soft tissue in the dental implant area and helps prevent the tissues from receding after oral surgery.
This simple procedure can be performed in your doctor’s office at the same time as the dental implant placement or before.
2) Ralph: Bone Deterioration
Ralph, is a 47-year-old male patient with most of the teeth missing in his upper jaw. The teeth were knocked out in an accident almost twenty years ago. After his accident, Ralph got dentures because they were the easiest and least expensive option for his needs. For the last 20 years, he could still eat and smile normally, but the bone beneath the missing teeth has continued to flatten out over time.
After doing some research and seeing his options, Ralph wants a more attractive and permanent solution to replace his missing teeth. He decided on dental implants but was told that his jawbone was not sufficiently dense for anchoring them. So what can patients like Ralph do?
What Is Bone Grafting?
Insufficient jawbone density is a problem that is most often remedied by bone grafting prior to dental implant treatment. After use of a numbing agent to prevent discomfort, your doctor will take donated bone tissue and surgically attach it to any jaw area with a lack of proper volume. Once healed, the jawbone will have better density.
How Can Bone Grafting Help Me?
Bone grafting procedures were initially designed to help patients wear dentures more comfortably and to chew with better functionally. However, the initial attempts were ineffective, painful, and ultimately unsuccessful. Luckily, after much research and development over the last few decades, doctors have perfected tissue grafts so that they can be easily attached to areas lacking necessary volume.
This means that patients like Ralph can get bone or tissue grafting in just a few short visits. And, after the graft area heals, Ralph can easily be evaluated for dental implant candidacy once more.
Come To Royal Dental Care For Supplemental Procedures
In the past, a lack of sufficient tissues in the gums or jawbone could have prevented patients from undergoing dental implant placement. Now, thanks to the amazing quality of bone and tissue grafting, patients who were previously unable to get implants, can take advantage of all the benefits of permanent and natural-looking tooth replacement. If you live in the Schaumburg or Norridge, IL areas, call us now for a no-obligation consultation with Dr. Troyan.
