Severe periodontitis and the after-effects of root canal treatment had destroyed the bone around the molars right down to the root tips

Bone regeneration means grafting bone to increase its volume where there is not enough to place an implant.

Grafting is usually needed where severe inflammation has damaged the bone, or where a long time has passed since extraction and the bone has shrunk.

By way of analogy, the bone is the soil and the implant is the tree growing in it. For a tree to stand firm for many years, good soil has to support it. Seen that way, bone regeneration is the surgery that creates good soil for a successful implant.

It has become a common procedure carried out at many clinics, but the results vary enormously. For grafted bone to become genuinely functional bone, a number of conditions must be met, and there are principles that must be observed during surgery. Choosing the graft material to suit each individual matters greatly too. Only when all of this is considered carefully can you create good soil for an implant that lasts.

The images above show a patient in whom severe periodontitis and the after-effects of root canal treatment had destroyed the bone around the molars right down to the root tips. Where destruction has gone this far, it is hard to predict how much bone would regenerate if nothing were done after extraction. Occasionally more forms than expected, but in most cases the site heals with the bone collapsed inward. That is why grafting immediately after extraction matters so much in a case like this.

Comparing before and after makes it plain: bone that had been so extensively destroyed has regenerated cleanly. An implant placed in well-regenerated soil should function for a very long time, provided oral hygiene is kept up.

What if, in this case, the patient had come in long after extraction, once the site had healed with the bone collapsed? Achieving the same result would have taken far more effort, cost and time, because tissue that has already shrunk works against you during bone regeneration. Having seen a great many patients, I have come to feel that the timing of a bone graft really matters. Whatever treatment you are having, I hope you will get an accurate diagnosis, understand your situation objectively, and know when and how it is best treated.