Bone Grafting

What is bone grafting?

Bone grafting improves the quality and quantity of bone in your jaw. During a bone graft, Dr. Pechak transplants a bone matrix from a sterile donor bank into your jawbone. Your jawbone absorbs the donated bone to form a stronger, more substantial foundation that can successfully support an implant.

Who is a candidate for bone grafting?

As you age, especially if you have missing teeth, the jawbone atrophies and is resorbed. You might want to have a dental implant as a convenient and sturdy replacement for a missing tooth or teeth, but you lack the necessary quantity and quality of bone to be eligible for the procedure.

Bone grafting is a possible solution. Bone grafting results in a stronger, more sturdy jawbone so that it can securely hold the metal post of an implant.

But remember that other restorations, like crowns, bridges, and conventional dentures, don’t require bone grafting, but they require cutting down neighboring teeth, affecting their longevity.

What happens during a bone grafting procedure?

If you and Dr. Pechak decide that a bone graft is right for you, he gives you a local anesthetic to numb sensation in the area receiving the bone graft. He uses donor bone from a sterile human bone bank mixed with your own blood plasma and carefully grafts it to your jawbone.

You’ll go home to recover for a few months. During that time, the bone graft fuses with your natural bone, creating new bone that can support a dental implant or implants.

What is the recovery from bone grafting like?

After oral surgery, expect to have some swelling, bruising, and minor bleeding in the area that received the graft. Dr. Pechak injects platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) with each graft to speed healing and encourage greater success.

PRF is the newest generation of platelet-rich plasma. PRF is a compound derived from your own blood that’s rich in healing factors. It encourages fast wound recovery and tissue growth.

In the first few days, as you recover from surgery, you’ll need to eat only soft or liquid foods. The team at Perio & Implant Center of Monterey Bay and the Silicon Valley gives you a thorough list of instructions for taking care of yourself after the bone grafting surgery.

You can still benefit from dental implants even if you’ve been told you have insufficient bone to support them. Bone grafting at Perio & Implant Center of Monterey Bay and the Silicon Valley can restore quality and amount of bone in your jaw. Call for an appointment to learn more or book one online.