There are a variety of conditions and reasons a patient might need oral surgery, including tooth decay, gum disease, dental trauma, impacted wisdom teeth, or to improve the fit of dentures, correct a misaligned jaw, fix breathing problems, or relieve facial pain.
Some oral surgeries include tooth extractions, reconstructive surgery, alveoloplasty, bone or gum grafts, dental implant placement, and much more. Oral surgery can be restorative to replace missing teeth, correct misaligned teeth, or relieve pain; it can also be purely cosmetic, to improve the patient’s overall smile.
Patients may need bone grafts because of tooth loss, gum disease, dental trauma, or to prepare the jaw bone for the placement of dentures.
A bone graft is the transfer of bone from one place in the body to replace lost bone density in the jaw. The bone becomes fused to the existing jaw bone and regenerates. This procedure may be performed to prepare a patient for the placement of dental implants or to restore the patient’s facial structure that has altered due to bone loss.
A bone graft is most commonly needed when a patient wants dental implants but does not have sufficient bone density to support them due to a lack of ridge bone that would hold them in place.
A bone graft replaces the lost bone and encourages bone regeneration so the patient can receive dental implants. It also fixes other problems associated with bone loss, such as shifting teeth, facial sagging, changes to your bite, and difficulty chewing.
You’ll first come in for a consultation with the endodontist. An oral exam will be performed and x-rays will be taken to get a closer look at the severity of your bone loss as well as the health of your teeth and gums.
To perform the bone graft, we’ll first apply a local anesthetic to numb your mouth. Autografts are the most common bone grafts, meaning the bone is taken from somewhere in your body, usually the hip, legs, or ribs.
A small incision is then made into the gums to reveal the jaw bone. The area will be cleaned and disinfected before placing the grafting material between two sections of bone that must grow together. It is then covered with a membrane for more protection. We’ll restore your gum tissue and sew up the incision.
Many insurance plans cover bone grafting procedures if they are deemed medically necessary. Some insurance plans also cover various procedures related to dental implants and may cover bone grafts if they are needed to be eligible for implant placement.
However, some plans do not cover bone grafts so you will need to contact your provider to know exactly what is covered and to what extent. At ONE ENDO, we submit insurance claims directly to your provider so you get the highest level of reimbursement. No insurance? No problem! We also offer flexible financing options such as CareCredit.
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