When gum disease destroys the hard and soft tissue that support teeth, regenerative surgery, or a bone graft may be used to restore certain areas.
Why Procedure is Used
If your teeth lose their gum covering, as well as bone support, it will be necessary to regrow these tissue in order to restore good dental health.
Patient Concerns to be Addressed
Before having a bone graft, your periodontal will try scaling and root planing. As long as you observe good oral hygiene, you should be able to have this surgery.
How Is Procedure Performed?
To begin, your periodontist will numb the area using a local anaesthesia. Once this is accomplished, the periodontist will gain access to tooth roots and the surrounding bone by cutting open the gums. After cleaning the roots, he/she will go on to work on repairing the bone. Among other things, your periodontist will fill some areas with graft material. Interestingly enough, the grafting material may come from your own body, as well as from a cow, or a cadaver. You may also be able to receive a graft made of synthetic glass. As may be expected, it will be best to use your own bone material.
Once the graft material is installed, the site will be covered in order to ensure proper development. Depending on the situation, this cover can be made from human or cow skin, as well as certain synthetic materials. After this process is completed, your periodontist will put the gums back in place, and stitch them together. Over the next few months, the grafted material will be encouraged to grow, and thus fill in for lost bone and soft tissue. If all goes well, this will allow the tooth to be reattached to your jaw.
Post-Operative Concerns
In most cases, you should be able to brush and floss the parts of your mouth that are not part of the surgical site. As long as the site is not covered by a periodontal pack, you should make every effort to remove plaque from these teeth as well. Your dentist may want you to use chlorhexedine while your mouth is healing. This rinse will kill of bacteria that might cause infections. At the same time, this particular rinse will not reduce plaque.
As may be expected, if you experience pain after an oral bone graft, your dentist can prescribe pain killers. If you notice swelling, you can use ice packs to relieve this issue. That said, if you notice excessive bleeding, or the swelling and pain get worse, you will need to let your periodontist know. Unfortunately, these symptoms may indicate an infection is developing.
Even if you do not have problems after the surgery, your periodontist will want to see you again in 7 to 10 days. You may also need to have several more follow up visit during the next few months. Depending on your situation, teeth in the surgical area may develop sensitivity to temperature. You may also notice an increased number of root cavities, as well as receding gums. Ask a dentist at cheadle humle dental and cosmetics for more advice about bone grafts.