Bone Grafting

When a tooth is lost, the jawbone beneath it loses the stimulation it needs to maintain its density. Without that stimulation, the bone begins to resorb — decreasing in both height and volume over time. For patients with a single missing tooth this change may be gradual, but significant bone loss across multiple sites can affect facial structure and, more importantly, eliminate candidacy for dental implant placement. Bone grafting addresses that loss by rebuilding the deficient ridge before implant treatment begins. Dr. John Darby and Dr. Timothy Johnson are trained in Piezosurgery, a minimally invasive bone grafting technique that reduces surgical trauma to surrounding tissue and supports faster recovery.

Specialized in Bone Grafting Techniques

Bone grafting involves placing bone material at a deficient site in the jaw ridge to stimulate regeneration. The source of that material depends on the clinical situation: bone harvested from another area of the patient’s own body (autograft), laboratory-processed bone material (allograft), or sterilized donor bone from an animal source (xenograft). An incision is made in the gum tissue, the material is placed at the treatment site, and the area is closed to allow regeneration.

For cases involving larger areas of resorption, we perform ridge augmentation — rebuilding bone along an entire section of the jaw ridge to restore the volume and contour necessary for implant placement. When a tooth has been lost in the upper posterior jaw and the sinus cavity sits too close to allow implant placement, a sinus lift repositions the sinus membrane upward and places new bone beneath it to create the depth required.

Our advanced healing protocols — including platelet-rich fibrin, plasma rich growth factors, and bone morphogenetic protein — are incorporated into grafting procedures to support bone and tissue regeneration, reduce post-operative complications, and accelerate the healing timeline before implant placement can proceed.