What is a dental implant and bone graft?
Dental implants are artificial replacements for your tooth roots that are placed within the bone of your jaw so that they can be used to support dentures, crowns (caps) or bridges. In some patients there is not enough bone in their jaw to allow dental implants to be inserted. In cases where more bone is needed, it may be possible to rebuild the jaw using bone taken from another place in your mouth or body.
Are there any other alternatives?
Synthetic bone substitutes, or bone from animals or other humans, are available but do not perform as well as your natural bone. This is because it is less likely that your body will reject your own bone. On some occasions your bone graft may also be mixed with a synthetic material or bone from another source i.e animal or human derived products.
We will inform you of any proposed synthetic graft or membrane, the composition of the graft/membrane and the origin of the graft/membrane (make/type). The choice of material can be discussed
How can I prepare?
Please make sure you have told us about any problems with your health and about any tablets or medicines you are taking. Some medical conditions change the advice and information we need to give you. If you are a smoker we strongly advise you to quit and remain a non-smoker in the long term. This will significantly reduce the risk of some implant complications. For help to stop smoking you can call the hotline on 13 QUIT.