Bone regeneration is an oral surgery procedure that helps stimulate the growth of new bone in the jaw. In most cases, this procedure is used to prepare the jaw for dental implant surgery, though it can also be used to prevent tooth loss. Bone regeneration can also help restore the appearance of the lower face, which can appear sunken and prematurely aged when the bone is resorbed, and it can generate space to make sinus lift surgeries more successful. There are multiple factors that can affect the strength and density of the jawbone, though the most common cause of jawbone loss is missing teeth. This type of bone loss occurs because the tooth roots serve an instrumental role in maintaining the health of the bone, exercising and stimulating the bone with the pressure of each bite. When there is no tooth root present to serve this function, the jaw begins to recede as its growth cells are resorbed by the body. Advanced periodontal disease can also lead to bone loss in the jaw, as the proliferation of bacteria that characterize periodontal disease penetrate the jaw and breed damaging infection in the bone. While less common, dental trauma is also a possible cause of bone loss, and bone loss can also occur because of certain oral diseases, including cancers.
Regardless of the cause, significant bone loss in the jaw can cause a range of problems, leading to a variety of reasons a person might want to regenerate dental bone. One of the most common reasons people seek dental bone regeneration is so that they can replace missing teeth with dental implants. Dental implants are considered the gold standard for tooth replacement, providing natural, stable restorations that help maintain the health of the bone while looking and feeling completely natural. In order for dental implants to succeed, however, there must be an adequate amount of supportive bone tissue present to secure the implants. When the bone is lacking in density or height, bone grafts and guided tissue regeneration can be used to replenish the bone before implants are placed.
In some cases, patients seek bone regeneration treatment to remedy the sunken appearance that strikes the lower face of people with diminished jawbones. In other cases, patients rely on bone regeneration to prevent dental problems from arising in the future; such problems could include but are not limited to tooth loss. When serious infection in the gums or other oral tissues damages the jawbone, which can occur with advanced periodontal disease, bone regeneration treatments can restore this damaged bone tissue and help prevent future tissue damage from occurring.
The preferred procedure for regenerating dental bone is bone graft surgery. To complete bone graft surgery, the dentist will first make an incision in the gum tissue. Once the bone beneath the gums is exposed, if there is infection under the gums or in the bone, this infection is removed and the area is treated to prevent future infection. After the area is thoroughly cleaned, grafting material is placed into the bone, and a synthetic membrane may also be placed to help guide tissue regrowth. These materials encourage the body to generate new cells, which are supported by the graft as strong, healthy bone develops and flourishes in the jaw.