Make Your Jawbone Future-ready with Bone Grafting
Are you ineligible for implants because of jawbone loss? Rediscover your healthy, stable jawbone with bone grafting services in Red Bluff and Chico, California. Bone grafting at Randal S. Elloway DDS, Inc. rebuilds your jawbone, creating a solid foundation to support your implants and improve aesthetics. Don’t let bone loss limit your possibilities for a healthy, secure smile. Visit Dr. Randal S. Elloway and his team, and they will help you rebuild your smile at its foundation.
Why do I need bone grafting?
When you have prolonged tooth loss, the body begins to break down bone in that area through resorption. When this bone degradation has been there for a while, there’s usually not enough bone left to anchor an implant and support the osseointegration process.
Bone loss doesn’t mean that you can’t benefit from dental implants. Bone grafting can rebuild your jawbone using a dental graft harvested from several sources, including:
- Your own body (autografts): They are derived from your body, such as the hips or jaws. One notable advantage of autografts is that they contain live cells, which ensure faster healing. However, they involve a second surgery, which may derail your recovery.
- Human donors: Allogenic bone or allograft is donor bone sourced from a cadaver. Unlike autogenous bone, it can’t produce new bone on its own. Instead, it serves as a scaffold, guiding natural bone to grow into the area and repair the defect.
- Animals: Xenografts are derived from the non-living bone of another species, most commonly bovine (cow) sources. It undergoes high-temperature processing to eliminate any risk of immune rejection or contamination.
Our doctor will explain the pros and cons of each grafting material and help determine the one that best suits your needs.
What can I expect from bone grafting?
Your treatment starts with a consultation with Dr. Elloway to assess your candidacy for bone grafting. If so, we’ll apply local anesthesia and possibly sedation dentistry to ensure a comfortable dental experience.
Once you’re comfortable, we’ll make a small incision on your jaw and place the grafting material. Then, we carefully stitch the area to kick-start healing. Your procedure takes 60-90 minutes and causes minimal discomfort. Our patients are thrilled to discover that it is more comfortable and seamless than it sounds.
What does bone grafting aftercare involve?
As with any surgery, recovery goes more smoothly following the aftercare guidelines. You can control pain and swelling with pain medication and home remedies. Remember to take antibiotics as directed to prevent infections.
Other aftercare tips include:
- Rest: The best thing you can do after surgery is rest—it allows your body to recover. Hold off on heavy exercise or strenuous tasks for at least a week.
- Oral hygiene: Keep your mouth clean with gentle brushing and flossing to prevent bacterial infections.
- Diet: Stick to soft, easy-to-chew foods during healing. Avoid chewing on the side of the grafting site until you heal.
Your gums will take about a week to heal. However, the jawbone needs 4-6 months to heal and integrate fully with the jawbone. We’ll schedule check-in appointments to monitor your healing progress during this period.
Do you need bone grafting near Red Bluff?
Randal S. Elloway DDS, Inc. combines technical excellence with cutting-edge technology to achieve outstanding results with bone grafting. Whether you need a bone graft for one tooth or several, trust Dr. Elloway and his team with top-tier dental care. Call our office in Red Bluff (530) 527-6777 or Chico (530) 877-4994 to get started.
