Treatments / Replacing teeth / Bone grafting
Bone grafting
Bone augmentation considered as part of implant planning when existing bone may be insufficient.
Could this treatment help you?
An implant needs enough bone to hold it, and bone shrinks where teeth have been missing for a while. Grafting rebuilds that volume — placing graft material that your own bone grows into — so an implant can be placed securely where it otherwise could not.
Whether you need a graft is not guesswork: the practice’s on-site CBCT scanner measures your bone in three dimensions before any plan is written.
This may suit you if
You want an implant but have been told — or the scan shows — that the bone is too thin or too shallow where it is needed. Grafting is a means to the implant, never an end in itself.
What it will not do
Grafting adds months of healing to an implant plan while the new bone matures, and like any surgery it carries small risks of infection or a graft that does not fully take — in which case the options are reassessed openly. Smoking works against graft success and is discussed honestly.
- Makes implants possible where bone has been lost
- Measured and planned from an on-site CBCT scan
- Part of one written implant plan — no surprise stages
- Step 1CBCT scanThe bone is measured; the graft is planned only where genuinely needed.
- Step 2GraftingGraft material is placed under local anaesthetic.
- Step 3HealingYour bone grows into the graft over months.
- Step 4Implant placementThe implant is placed into the rebuilt bone.
Afterwards
Swelling and tenderness for a few days is expected and managed. The site is left undisturbed while it heals, with follow-ups to check progress before the implant stage is booked.
Questions patients usually ask.
Do I definitely need a graft?
Only the CBCT scan can say. Some patients told elsewhere they need grafting turn out not to; some need it in one site only. The plan is written from your scan, not from a rule of thumb.
What is the graft material?
Several materials are used in modern grafting, chosen for the site and the volume needed — what is proposed for you, and why, is explained at consent, before anything is agreed.
Our friendly team are here to help you
Ask a question about this treatment and reception will reply during opening hours.
