Bone Grafts

Doctor and assistant performing bone graft procedure - Rotary Way Oral Surgery, CA

Bone loss in your jaw can lead to tooth loss and affect your appearance. If you’re concerned about bone loss, contact Jeffrey Graves, DDS, at Rotary Way Oral Surgery, in Vallejo, California. Dr. Graves provides expert bone grafting procedures to strengthen and restore your jaw. Call or schedule an appointment online today.


A bone graft adds bone from a donor or your own body to weak or deteriorating bone elsewhere in your body. At Rotary Way Oral Surgery, Dr. Graves, an expert oral and maxillofacial surgeon, transplants bone into your jawbone. As the bone graft fuses with your jawbone, it adds strength and replaces lost bone tissue. 


The two most common causes of oral bone loss are periodontal disease and adult tooth loss. While gum disease damagesBone Grafting Vallejo, CA your gum tissue, once it gets beneath your gum line, it also attacks and breaks down your jawbone, which eventually leads to tooth loss. 

The issue compounds, as periodontal disease leads to tooth loss, which is another prevalent cause of bone loss in your jaw. Your tooth roots stimulate healthy bone growth in your jaw. When you’re missing teeth, your jaw doesn’t get the stimulation it needs, and the tissue deteriorates. 

Normally, natural teeth provide pressure to the jaw bone as you chew your food. This pressure stimulates the regrowth of new bone cells. This process is important because as cells grow old they need replacing. Without a tooth or teeth to stimulate the renewal of bone cells, the jaw bone will slowly weaken. This can have greater effects the longer you leave it. Your face shape may change and you could risk losing more teeth.  

While you might notice if your jaw or face changes shape, most of the time, you won’t know that you have bone loss until a dental X-ray or consultation for dental implants reveals it. If you’re planning on dental implants, but have suffered bone loss, Dr. Graves may require bone grafting to strengthen your jaw enough to support implants. He also performs bone grafts after multiple tooth extractions to fill in and reinforce your sockets for future implants or dentures.


It is fairly common to have a bone graft to prepare and strengthen the jaw bone for dental implants. There are some advantages of having a bone graft in preparation for dentures too. Consider two reasons why you should opt for this procedure before your dentures are fitted. 

Firstly, your jaw bone will be stronger. This is important because your jaw bone is the foundation for your dentures. The other reason is that your jaw bone will be smoother. When your teeth are extracted, they can leave your jaw bone with high and low points. The high points of your gum can rub on the dentures, causing sore spots. Also, if your gum is not smooth, the dentures are more likely to slip making it uncomfortable to eat.   


Dr. Graves begins your bone graft by thoroughly numbing your mouth and providing a sedative to keep you comfortable throughout the surgery. He then makes an incision where the bone graft is needed. He shapes the graft to fit onto your jaw and secures it in place. He may also include growth factors or membranes to support the bonding and regeneration processes. 




A bone graft is one preventative measure against dry socket. Dry socket can occur after an extraction. When the blood clot that fills the hole becomes dislodged, it exposes sensitive nerve endings creating a lot of pain. By placing a piece of bone in the socket, it will cover the nerve endings preventing the condition to occur.

Call Rotary Way Oral Surgery or make an appointment online today if you’re concerned about bone loss or if you’re considering dental implants.

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