If the dentist does a bone replacement graft for two of my wisdom teeth does tha!
Question:
If the dentist does a bone replacement graft for two of my wisdom teeth does that mean she's going to....?
Use my own bones...from other parts in my jaw, or use other material? This is starting to sound complicated and kind of painful. Is this type of bone replacement always done when they remove wisdom teeth?
Answers:
I've seen wisdom teeth extractions done mostly without bone graft, but there are situations that would require it, such as if a large portion of the cortical bone needs to be drilled away for access to a jammed lower wisdom tooth. You should ask your oral surgeon why he thinks the bone graft is necessary.
There are many different types of bone grafts, such as:
- Xenografts using bovine bone (from cows) used to be really common
- Allografts from bone harvested from organ donors after they passed away are also common and in wide use today-- The bone is harvested, demineralized and irradiated for sterilization. The graft material is known as DFDBA (Demineralized, freeze-dried bone allograft).
- Then there are autografts-- Your own bone taken from elsewhere on your body.
Talk to your oral surgeon and ask about the advantages and disadvantages of the types of grafts.
Good luck.