For dental implants to be placed effectively they require sufficient bone. The bone must be of good quality and quantity in order for the dental implants to be stable, secure, and effective. If the amount of bone available is insufficient, sometimes bone grafting becomes necessary for successful dental implant placement.
Generally speaking, the human lower jaw has tougher and denser bone compared to the upper jaw which usually has softer bone. If dental implants are planned, it’s important that the tooth is removed atraumatically to preserve precious socket bone for dental implant placement.
Once a tooth is removed, the bone in the tooth socket starts to remodel and resorb. After several months, there can be a lot of bone loss in the tooth socket caused by the loss of that tooth.
The ideal time for implant placement is around 6-8 weeks after tooth extraction. At this point the soft tissue has healed, however, most of the bone is still intact. This waiting time also allows any infection to clear up.
To assess the quantity and location of bone available for dental implant placement, we usually take a cone beam CT scan of the implant site at the assessment visit.
At Pearl Dental Clinic, when we inspect the bone quality and quantity prior to implant placement, there are three possible scenarios:
Bone grafting as well as soft tissue grafting are an important part of dental implantology. For a better functional and cosmetic dental implant outcome, we always carry out bone and soft tissue grafting where needed. You can find out more about socket preservation and soft tissue grafting in our soft tissues grafting before & after photos gallery. Also, if you would like to find out out more about our dental implant services, please give our reception team a call or book an appointment online.
Pearl Dental Clinic is open 7 days a week from 9am to 10pm. You can book a dental implant consultation by calling us on 0208 547 9997 or by emailing us or book an appointment online (available 24 hours/day).
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