Bone grafting procedures can be used in two different ways. Firstly, to regenerate bone around teeth that has been lost due to periodontal disease (see “What is periodontal disease?”). This is only possible in certain cases, stressing the importance of detecting and treating periodontal disease early on before the disease is too advanced to treat.
Secondly, bone grafting is used to regenerate bone that has been lost as a result of tooth extraction. Following the extraction of a tooth, the surrounding bone loses its support (the tooth) and will collapse in on itself over time. The longer an extracted tooth site is left, the more bone loss occurs. To minimize this bone loss from extraction before it happens, bone grafting is often done at the same time as tooth removal, a procedure called “site preservation”. This ensures that once healing from an extraction is complete, there will be sufficient bone to stabilize a dental implant.