Need and Success of Dental Bone Grafting

1. Need and Success of Dental Bone Grafting Bone grafting or bone augmentation is a process involving adding up bone type material to jawbone in order to make it larger. It looks scary at first but it is a painless procedure nowadays. Need of bone grafting: The main underlying reasons are given ahead: To restore the bone to its original form after tooth loss, gum disease or trauma. To maintain bone structure after extraction of tooth. To provide support for dental implants and maximizing its success. To revamp the natural jawline. To provide support to underlying facial bone to enhance outward cosmetic appearance.  To refurbish and maintain facial bone structure. Insufficiencies of bone in jaw area can be due to the following reasons: Wearing a long term denture Injury to face Defects in tooth development Gum disease Poor dental procedures to restore natural bone Empty spaces after teeth removal Success of bone grafting: Success rate for bone grafting is significantly high. The chances of bone graft failure are very low but still there is always a chance that it might fail. These are not rejected like organ transplants. Dentists don’t know the actual reason of its failure but it is common among patients who smokes or are under certain medical prescriptions. Failed graft is generally removed and once the area heals another graft is placed again on the same site. It is among the most challenging procedures undertaken in dental offices. There are numerous factors that ensure the predictable outcome. The success rate of bone grafting method increases with a good basic understanding of techniques and procedures. When predictability

2. of a case has to be determined then diagnosis is an important factor to be taken into consideration. Alveolar ridge deficiencies prevents implant placement, whether it is due to bone loss during extraction of tooth or after extraction bone resorption possibilities. These deficiencies can be corrected by utilizing ridge augmentation techniques beforehand. The important things that determine the success of bone graftingare explained under: Membrane used: Two types of membranes are used in bone regeneration procedure viz. resorbable and non-resorbable. Non-resorbable membranes gives long-term barrier effect but are more prone to infections while resorbable membranes functions as barrier for a limited period of time but are less subjected to infections. Material used for grafting: One among these four types of material is used in bone grafting: oAutograft bone (Bone from another part of body) oAllograft (Bone from same species but different individual) oXenograft (Bone from animals) oAlloplast (Man-made substances) Maintaining space: Titanium screws can be used to get desired dimension and to provide proper shape and space to graft particles. In order to stabilize a block graft, tenting screws can also be used. The space provided will help osteoblastic cells to colonize the site and this leads to bone formation. Suturing process: Sutures helps in accomplishing a tension-free flap closure. The success rate of grafting decreases significantly if graft stayed exposed. Flap design and release: Clinicians should use a blend of full and split-thickness design in order to keep the grafted area closed. It is a very vital factor for grafting success. Preparation of site: Perforation of a ridge is done on the area of bone grafting. Care should be taken to not to go through lingual/palatal way, to avoid risk of perforation in those areas. A safe distance should be maintained from anatomical landmarks so a good periapical radiograph should be taken in advance. Medication after grafting: It helps is reducing pain and discomfort after bone grafting. It includes antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medicines, and mouthwash to prevent infections. These were some of the things to be taken into consideration, to increase the success rate of dental bone grafting.