Bone Grafting
Bone Grafting is available at these locations:
Losing a tooth often sets off a quieter problem beneath the surface: the jawbone that once supported it begins to deteriorate. Bone grafting rebuilds that lost foundation. At Aesthetic Dentistry, our doctors perform bone grafting to restore bone volume, which makes dental implants possible, shields the neighboring teeth, and keeps the natural structure of your jaw intact. From a straightforward socket graft to more extensive jaw reconstruction, your plan is shaped around what your situation actually calls for.
What it is
A surgical procedure in which graft material is placed where the jawbone has broken down from tooth loss, gum disease, or trauma. The material fuses with your existing bone, rebuilding lost volume and strength.
Who it's for
Anyone whose jaw has lost bone, whether from missing teeth or another cause, and who needs that bone rebuilt to protect their oral health or to qualify for dental implants they could not otherwise receive.
How we help
We begin with advanced imaging to map the bone loss precisely, use carefully screened, sterile graft materials, and tailor every plan to the case, from a simple socket graft to extensive jaw reconstruction.
Solid bone is what makes dental implants possible, and bone grafting rebuilds it. Find out if grafting is your next step.
Do I Need a Bone Graft?
- A dentist has told you there isn't enough bone to anchor dental implants
- Teeth have been missing long enough that the jawbone underneath has thinned
- Bone shrinkage has left your dentures or bridges loose and ill-fitting
- Bone loss has destabilized the area, and nearby teeth are beginning to drift
- Advanced gum disease has eaten away at the bone supporting your teeth
- our doctors use digital X-rays and CT scans to assess the bone and map out the right approach
How the Procedure Works
- Evaluation: our doctors measure how much bone has been lost and decide which graft material, and how much of it, your case needs
- Graft placement: Once the site is numb, graft granules are packed into the space where bone has disappeared
- Materials: The graft may come from your own bone, from processed human or animal bone supplied by a tissue bank, or from a mineral substitute
- Closure: Sutures close the site, and the graft starts to knit into the bone around it
- Integration: Across the following months, that material fuses with your natural bone and brings back lost volume and strength
- Once everything has healed, the rebuilt site is ready to hold dental implants or other restorations
Types of Bone Grafts
- Socket preservation: Placed right at the time of extraction to head off bone loss; the simplest type and the quickest to recover from
- Ridge augmentation: Restores the width or height of bone in spots where teeth have been gone for a while
- Sinus lift: A specialized upper-jaw graft used when the sinus has crept down into the bone
- Block graft: For extensive reconstruction, a solid block of bone is taken from elsewhere in your body
- Which type fits depends on where the loss is, how much bone is gone, and what you want treatment to achieve
Is Bone Grafting Safe?
- In trained hands, bone grafting is a well-established, safe, and reliable procedure
- Every graft material is sterile, and donor materials are screened to rigorous safety standards
- When your own bone is available, it tends to work best, so it may be the material used
- Before anything begins, our doctors walk you through the material choices and your options
- Most patients heal without a hitch, and true complications are uncommon
- Grafting is done under local anesthesia, with sedation on hand if you'd like to be more relaxed
For many patients, grafting is what clears the way for dental implants and a restored smile. Book your evaluation today.
What to Expect at Your Visit
Visit Steps
- Imaging: Digital X-rays and CT scans pinpoint exactly where bone has been lost and how much
- Treatment plan: our doctors lay out which graft you need, the material involved, and what the road ahead looks like
- Procedure: Carried out under local anesthesia, and most patients report only minimal discomfort
- Recovery: A socket graft may heal in a few weeks; extensive reconstruction takes several months
- Next steps: After the graft has fully integrated, the site is ready for dental implant placement
Helpful Tips
- A simple socket graft can frequently be placed during the same visit as a tooth extraction
- Years of denture wear can cause heavy bone loss, which means a longer wait before implants can go in
- Stick to your post-surgical instructions and leave the graft site undisturbed while it heals
- For the first few weeks, favor soft foods and keep chewing away from the graft
- A few days of mild swelling and discomfort are to be expected and usually fade quickly
- Skip smoking entirely, since it badly undercuts bone healing and the success of the graft
Frequently Asked Questions
Comfort comes first. During bone grafting, local anesthesia numbs the area completely, so you do not feel pain while the graft material is placed, and if you tend to feel anxious about dental work, let us know beforehand so we can talk through your comfort options.
In the days afterward, most patients notice some mild swelling and soreness around the site, which over-the-counter pain medication handles well, and that tenderness usually fades within a few days as the area begins to heal. You go home with detailed post-operative care instructions from our doctors, and following them closely, especially keeping the graft site undisturbed, is the best way to stay comfortable and protect the result.
Healing time after bone grafting comes down to the type and size of the graft. A simple socket preservation graft may be healed in 3–4 months, while a larger ridge augmentation or block graft can need 6–9 months before the bone is strong enough to hold dental implants.
What is happening during that window is a gradual process: the graft material acts as a scaffold that your own bone grows into and replaces, rebuilding lost volume and density over time. There is no way to rush it, because the implants that follow need a fully integrated, solid foundation to succeed, which is why our doctors confirm with imaging that the site has healed before moving ahead, so each step happens on the bone's own timeline rather than the calendar's.
Sometimes. When a tooth has just come out and very little bone is missing, the graft and the implant can often go in during one procedure, which saves a separate surgery and shortens the overall timeline. A socket preservation graft placed at the moment of extraction is the most common version of this combined approach.
With more severe bone loss, the graft has to integrate first before any implant can be placed, because the implant needs solid, healed bone to anchor into. To decide which path fits, our doctors use CT imaging to measure exactly how much bone you have and determine whether bone grafting and implant placement can be combined or are better staged. Either way, the goal is the same: a stable, lasting foundation for your new tooth.
Bone grafting can draw on several proven materials, and there are four main choices:
- Autograft: your own bone, taken from elsewhere in your body.
- Allograft: processed human bone from a reputable tissue bank.
- Xenograft: processed animal bone, most often bovine.
- Alloplast: a synthetic mineral substitute.
Your own bone works best, though every option is safe and well-studied. The donor materials used in allografts and xenografts are processed and screened to rigorous safety standards before placement. For your case, our doctors will recommend the right material, weighing where the graft is needed, how much bone has to be rebuilt, and your own preferences before anything begins.
Left alone, the bone loss only deepens. Once a tooth is gone, the jawbone that supported it no longer gets the stimulation it needs, so it keeps shrinking, nearby teeth can loosen or drift into the gap, and the bite gradually changes. Over time that lost volume can also leave dentures or bridges fitting poorly.
The bigger consequence is for your options down the road: as bone disappears, placing dental implants grows harder or stops being an option at all without first rebuilding the site. Acting early with bone grafting heads off the more complex, more expensive procedures that come later, and it preserves the foundation you would need for implants or other restorations in the future.
The cost of bone grafting depends on how much grafting your case calls for. A simple socket graft costs far less than extensive ridge reconstruction or a sinus lift, and factors like the graft material chosen and whether the work is combined with an extraction or implant all play a part. Because no two cases are alike, there is no single price.
You receive a detailed estimate at your consultation at our Orland Park or Oak Lawn office before any treatment begins, so the numbers are clear up front. To keep care within reach, we offer flexible financing options, and many patients find that grafting now is far less costly than the alternatives that bone loss forces later.
No. As long as you are in reasonable overall health, bone grafting works for adults at any age, and many of the patients who benefit most are older adults who have lived with missing teeth or worn dentures for years.
What matters more than age is your overall health and healing capacity. Conditions that affect healing, such as uncontrolled diabetes or smoking, can influence the outcome, which is why our doctors review your medical history and oral health to confirm you are a good candidate before recommending bone grafting. When healing is a concern, the plan can be adjusted to give the graft the best chance of success.
Give your smile a foundation to build on. Book your bone grafting consultation today.