Bone Augmentation

For dental implants to be successful, there must be enough bone to support them. You may not have enough bone because of tooth loss from periodontal (gum) disease, injury or trauma, or a developmental defect. If your jaw is too short (up and down), too narrow (side to side), or both, you will need a procedure to add bone to your jaw before implants can be placed.

Bone augmentation is a term that is used to describe a variety of procedures that are used to "build" bone so that dental implants can be placed. These procedures typically involve grafting (adding) bone or bonelike materials to the jaw, and waiting for the grafted material to fuse with the existing bone over several months.

There are several different procedures that can be used for bone augmentation. When appropriate we can recommend a procedure depending on the type, location and number of implants to be used and discuss all of the options available to you.