Care Our team Reviews Services Cost & coverage Canadian Dental Care Plan Dental emergency Hours & location Request an appointment (778) 754-4488

Brightside Surgical dentistry

Rebuilding bone
so an implant can go in.

Adding bone where there is not enough of it, most often so an implant becomes possible, or at the time of an extraction so the site does not collapse.

Call (778) 754-4488 Hours and location

What it is

Bone disappears once a tooth is gone.

The bone that held a tooth starts to resorb as soon as the tooth is out, quickly at first. That is why a socket graft at the time of extraction is often suggested even when implant plans are years away, and why a site left empty for a long time frequently needs grafting before an implant can be placed.

  • An implant is planned and imaging shows too little bone
  • A tooth is being extracted and an implant may follow
  • A site has been missing a tooth for years
  • A previous implant failed and left a defect
  • The ridge has visibly narrowed
  • Gum disease has caused bone loss around a site

What the visit is like

What is involved.

  1. Imaging to see what is actually missingVolume and shape, not just presence. That determines the type of graft and whether it is worth doing.
  2. The procedureOften at the same appointment as an extraction, which avoids a second surgery. Sedation is available.
  3. Healing timeMonths, during which the graft is replaced by your own bone. This cannot be shortened.
  4. Re-imaging before the implantWe confirm there is now enough bone rather than assume the graft did what it was meant to.

Cost and coverage

You should never be surprised by a bill.

Every plan arrives with the fee beside each line and the insurance estimate beside that, before you agree to anything. We submit to your plan directly where it allows it, and we are set up for the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

Fees for this are quoted in writing after an exam, per tooth and per surface. Nobody can price it accurately from a website or over the phone.

Common questions

Asked on the phone most weeks.

Where does the graft material come from?
Most commonly from a processed donor or synthetic source, which avoids a second surgical site. Occasionally your own bone is used. We will tell you exactly what is being used and why.
Does a graft always work?
Usually, but not always, and that is worth knowing before you start. We re-image before placing an implant rather than assume, and if it has not worked we will say so.
Can I have the implant at the same time?
Sometimes, where there is enough bone to hold the implant stable while the graft heals around it. Often not. Imaging decides it, not preference.

Booking

Say what it is when you call.

If it is pain, say that -- it changes how the day gets arranged. If it is a checkup for three people, say that too and we will try to put you in one morning.

Also at Brightside

Call (778) 754-4488 Hours and location