A patient from Wheaton yesterday asked me why he should have a “bone replacement graft” at the time of having an extraction done. The keywords in dental implant placement are the quality and quantity of bone available for the implant to affix to the remaining bone. Typically after an extraction, the extraction site will heal, but the bone will start to wither away. Research shows that 40-60% of the bone that used to surround the tooth roots withers away from the area within the first one to two years after an extraction!
This is the BIG MISTAKE that many patients make—they wait too long between the time the tooth is removed and deciding to have the implant placed. Then instead of having a simple bone preservation graft at the time the tooth is extracted, the patient requires a much more extensive and expensive block or a sinus graft. If bone loss occurs in the area of the front teeth, the final restoration may have teeth that look too long. If too much bone is lost in the back teeth areas, there is a greater chance that the sinus will grow into the bone remaining, or that the implant will have to be shorter and less able to have sufficient long-term stability.
Dr. Gibbs does sees patients from
Wheaton, Naperville, Lombard, Oak Brook, Elmhurst, Villa Park, Schaumburg, Warrenville, Downers Grove,
Lisle, and the Chicagoland area. He may
be reached at SmileGlenEllyn.com.
Thanks for the info. Glad I saw this before it was too late. I had a tooth extracted a few months ago through
Aspen Dental and have been trying to decide whether I want to get it replaced since it isn't very visible. I'll be making a decision much quicker now!
1 Comment
A patient from Wheaton yesterday asked me why he should have a “bone replacement graft” at the time of having an extraction done. The keywords in dental implant placement are the quality and quantity of bone available for the implant to affix to the remaining bone. Typically after an extraction, the extraction site will heal, but the bone will start to wither away. Research shows that 40-60% of the bone that used to surround the tooth roots withers away from the area within the first one to two years after an extraction!
This is the BIG MISTAKE that many patients make—they wait too long between the time the tooth is removed and deciding to have the implant placed. Then instead of having a simple bone preservation graft at the time the tooth is extracted, the patient requires a much more extensive and expensive block or a sinus graft. If bone loss occurs in the area of the front teeth, the final restoration may have teeth that look too long. If too much bone is lost in the back teeth areas, there is a greater chance that the sinus will grow into the bone remaining, or that the implant will have to be shorter and less able to have sufficient long-term stability.
Dr. Gibbs does sees patients from Wheaton, Naperville, Lombard, Oak Brook, Elmhurst, Villa Park, Schaumburg, Warrenville, Downers Grove, Lisle, and the Chicagoland area. He may be reached at SmileGlenEllyn.com.