The placement of dental implants depends on you having enough jawbone to support this tooth replacement technique. If this is not the case, you need not worry. With today’s remarkable advances in dental technology, a jawbone that has suffered excessive resorption can be rebuilt with modern
bone grafting techniques.
Here is a summary:
Autografts
The bone to be grafted onto the jaw is taken from your own body. This is the most successful grafting technique.
Allografts
Bone is taken from another human donor that is compatible with your body. Your body ‘converts’ the donor bone into your natural bone.
Xenografts
The bone is taken from animals, usually cows. It undergoes special processing to make it biocompatible and sterile. Over time, your body will replace this ‘filler’ bone with natural bone.
Alloplastic grafts
This is a man-made material (usually a form of calcium phosphate) that mimics natural bone. Its purpose is to stimulate the body to create enough natural bone for the placement of dental implants.