A bone graft is a surgical procedure. It can cause swelling, bruising and pain. In most cases, we leave the bone graft to heal for 3 to 6 months before you can have your dental implant treatment. Your dentist will advise you if you need a bone graft.
Types of bone grafting
- Minor bone grafting uses bone from synthetic sources, animal derivatives, a donor from another person, or from another part of your jaw. This is usually done under local anaesthetic +/- intravenous sedation. This medicine makes your mouth numb and you do not feel any pain, but you stay awake for the procedure. You can go home when the treatment is finished.
- Major bone grafting is used if you need a larger amount of bone. It takes bone from somewhere else in your body (usually the hip). You have a general anaesthetic. You may need to stay in hospital for a short time after your surgery. You would be referred for this kind of treatment.
Make sure that you tell us about any problems with your health and any medicines that you take. Some medical conditions change the advice and information that we need to give you.
If you smoke, we strongly recommend that you try to stop and remain a non-smoker in the long term. This reduces the risks of having dental implants. Smoking can also delay wound healing because it reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches the tissues in your body.
Risks of having a bone graft
As with any surgical procedure, there are risks to having a bone graft.
- You might have pain, swelling and bruising in the area where we take the bone graft.
- You might have swelling of your jaw for 1 to 2 weeks.
- A bone graft can get infected. Your dental team works carefully and gives you antibiotics after treatment to avoid this.
Sometimes, there is not enough successful bone to do dental implant surgery after a bone graft. If this happens, you might need more bone graft surgery.The risk of failure is higher for some people, particularly those who smoke. Your dental team explains the risks and tells you if you have a higher chance of the bone graft failing. There is also a higher risk of failure if we put the dental implants into grafted bone rather than natural bone.
Other treatment options
It is possible to use bone from other people or animals for a bone graft. This is called a synthetic (man-made) bone substitute, but it does not work as well as your own bone. Your body is less likely to reject your own bone.
Sometimes, your bone graft might be mixed with a synthetic material or bone from another source (such as products from animals). We might also use a synthetic layer (membrane) to cover and protect the graft.
Before your treatment, we tell you about any synthetic graft or membrane, where it comes from and what it is made from. You can talk to us about the choice of material.
Autograft
Source
Your own bone (e.g., chin, jaw, hip)
Description
Best compatibility; heals well but requires a second surgical site
Allograft
Source
Donor human bone (processed)
Description
Safe and widely used; no need for second surgery
Xenograft
Source
Animal bone (usually bovine/cow)
Description
Safe, natural structure; slower to absorb
Alloplast
Source
Synthetic bone
Description
Man-made materials; good for minor grafts or combined with other types
