Bone Grafting ::Periodontal Services

The term "periodontal defect" generally refers to a loss of bone and tooth attachment around the roots of your teeth. It is sometimes also called a "periodontal pocket," which refers to the small pocket of empty space that forms between the tooth root and the bone.

Why does bone grafting help?
By including bone grafting in an overall procedure to restore the tooth's attachment, dentists have found that they can regenerate lost bone and the ligaments that hold a tooth to that bone, restoring your tooth to its original state and insuring that you will have use of it for a good long time.

BEFORE	AFTER

What is the procedure?
The doctor will cut and pull back the gum tissue around the tooth (called "flap surgery") to gain access to the tooth root and surrounding bone. The tooth root is cleaned via a procedure called "scaling and planning" to remove all accumulated tartar and calculus so that the tooth will reattach to periodontal ligaments. The bone grafting material is placed in the area of missing bone and the gum tissues are replaced and sutured closed.