I want to get dental implants. My dentist said he does them all the time and offered to do them for me. He even does the surgery, or so he said. But, once he got in there, he told me I wouldn’t be a good candidate without having some bone grafting done first. Is this legitimate or is he just trying to squeeze another surgery out of me?
Ben B.
Dear Ben,
I’m curious as to whether or not your dentist has given you a reason to mistrust him in the past. If you’re worried your dentist is dishonest, you’d be better served with a dentist you feel has integrity.
In regard to your question about bone grafting, it is a legitimate procedure. As you can see from the dental illustration above the titanium implant gets placed directly into your jawbone. The right amount of bone is needed to keep the dental implant secure and in place.
Your dentist was actually trying to protect you from as wasted procedure. Without the right amount of bone, you’d end up with dental implant failure.
Things to consider with Dental Implants
Your dentist already hit on an important one—the density of your bone. While some people just have bone that is less dense, you might want to look into why you needed bone grafting. Are you a smoker? Is it possible you have gum disease? Both of those things will affect your bones. Those underlying issues will need to be addressed in order for you to move forward.
Another thing to consider is cosmetic. Once you are able to finally get your dental implant, the crown’s color is permanent. If you want to whiten your teeth at any point in the future, you may want to do it before you get the implant crown done. Then the crown can be made a beautiful white color to match your teeth.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.
