A satisfactory volume of bone in the jaw is essential for the success of dental implantology treatments. The loss of teeth often causes the loss of the bone. Teeth are lost for several reasons: gum disease, tooth decay, infections, mechanical injuries. If the bone inside the gum is not high and wide enough, bone augmentation procedure needs to be performed.
Bone augmentation is the procedure in which a bone is repaired with a transplant of the patient's own bone or by adding the artificial bone. These procedures can be performed simultaneously with the insertion of the implant or before the implant is inserted (pre-implant Bone Regeneration). There are several methods of transplant and insertion and it is up to the dentist to decide which is the best, based on the quantity and the position of the implant. After the procedure we need to wait from 4 to 9 weeks before the implants can be inserted.
The natural bone for a transplant is usually taken from the chin, the latter part of the lower jaw a hip or a leg. The hip transplant is the best solution but it requires general anaesthesia and a hospital stay. Materials of animal or artificial (synthetic) origin can also be used. Synthetic materials stimulate the cells in the body to turn into bone.