Bone Grafting

Bone deterioration is a common and natural occurrence in the jaw bone if a tooth or multiple teeth have been lost. If bone has been lost, it usually must be regrown when you are interested in dental implant placement, because there must be adequate jaw bone to support the implant. At Beacon Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, we want to give everyone the opportunity to restore their smile, which is why we offer bone grafting procedures to supplement and rebuild deteriorated jaw bone.

Dr. Lieblick and Dr. Rehrer are board-certified experts in all areas of the oral and maxillofacial region. There are a number of different bone grafting procedures that may be performed, and the treatment you receive will depend on the location and surface area of the needed bone graft in your mouth. The material used to place the bone graft is often obtained from a tissue bank, eliminating the need for an additional surgical site. We perform bone grafting services at each of our offices located in Gresham, The Dalles, Milwaukie, OR, and Camas, WA.

Types of Bone Grafts

Sinus Lift

The maxillary sinuses reside behind your cheeks and on top of your upper teeth. They are natural air spaces in the bones of the face. It is common for the bone that separates your mouth from these sinuses to be too thin to support a dental implant if you need a tooth replacement. During this procedure, your oral surgeon enters into the sinus and places a bone graft beneath the sinus membrane that will integrate with the jaw bone over several months. Once the bone graft has fully healed, a dental implant can be inserted.

Socket Preservation

After a tooth is extracted, it will ideally be replaced with a dental implant to preserve the aesthetics and function of your smile. If you are not replacing the tooth, your oral surgeon can insert bone graft material into the empty socket to preserve the shape of the socket. This creates an easier procedure if you decide to replace the missing tooth with a dental implant in the future and reduces the risk of bone deterioration in the space where the tooth is missing.

Major Bone Grafting

Patients who have suffered facial trauma or who have experienced major bone loss may require major bone grafting. This involves taking a portion of the patient’s bone, typically from the hip, jaw, or tibia, and inserting it where more bone is needed.