A dental implant needs to be placed within a patient’s bone. The bone volume must be sufficient to allow for dental implant placement. The most important factor in implant dentistry is Osseointegration. This is where the bone creates a bond with the dental implant and integrates it within its structure. If there is insufficient bone volume, this process cannot take place predictably and the implant can fail.
One of the primary causes of bone volume loss is tooth loss. Following the removal of a tooth or teeth, the bone starts to resorb and remodel. This bone loss can still allow for implant placement without any additional procedures, or may necessitate bone grafting if extensive loss has occurred.
Therefore, every patient needs to be thoroughly assessed to determine their bone volume (which is often shown through 3D X-Ray scans) to ascertain who if a bone graft is required. A 3D-scan enables the implant dentist to see the volume, density, height, and anatomical structure of your bone. It is important this is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.