For many people in O'Fallon, dental implants are the end-all, be-all of teeth replacement options. Although they aren't the only way to replace a missing tooth or teeth, they do offer several advantages:
- Dental implants are fixed in the jawbone for added permanence
- They don't shift or feel loose
- A single tooth implant doesn't impact surrounding teeth
- Dental implants are easier to clean
- They look and perform like natural teeth
To ensure that any dental implant procedure is successful, Dr. Schillinger's team needs to assess your bone health to be sure that the bone structure can support your implant's artificial root.
How a Bone Graft Works
We can provide a bone graft to bulk up your jaw bone if you have insufficient bone mass for a dental implant. This procedure is required, most notably when your teeth have been missing for a long time or when you have osteoporosis.
The bone graft grows into your jawbone and helps regenerate new bone tissue to support the implant. If your tooth loss is recent and your jawbone is healthy, we may not need to perform a bone graft. But your sinus may interfere with specific implant locations even with good bone health. In this case, we may offer a sinus lift, which places new bone tissue between the implant root and your sinus to separate them.