Dental implants can give hope to those who had given up all hope for eating certain foods every again, and hope of smiling and speaking confidently without their replacement teeth sliding around. But severe bone loss can dash those hopes, especially if you’ve pinned your hopes of dental implants on a general dentist. An oral surgeon, however, can offer advanced solutions that can make your dreams of getting dental implants a reality. Take a look at what an oral surgeon can do to help you get dental implants.
Bone Grafting
It’s the top solution for helping a weak candidate for dental implants become a strong candidate.
A bone graft is performed by packing bone dust into the area where bone mass or density is too low to support dental implants. Over the months following surgery, the graft will be accepted by existing bone and will fuse together. This process usually takes at least four months. Ultimately, the bone graft will help existing bone generate new bone tissue.
Once the graft has healed, dental implants may be implanted in the area. And similar to the fusion of existing bone and the graft, the titanium roots of the dental implants will fuse together with the jawbone.
Some related procedures that can help make you a stronger candidate for dental implants includes the following:
Sinus lift – after severe bone loss has occurred, the sinuses may expand and sag, crowding space needed for implants. A sinus lift solves this problem by literally lifting the sinuses and using bone material to tuck them back.
Ridge preservation and augmentation – when a tooth is pulled, it may be necessary to fill the socket with bone material in order to stop deterioration. The ridge, the raised part of the jaw where teeth take root, can be reshaped after severe bone loss to accommodate dental implants and to restore facial symmetry.
More on Dental Implants in Van Nuys, CA
Reserve a time to talk with a local dentist and to find out more about your options for getting dental implants in Van Nuys, California.