Will You Need a Bone Graft?
How a scan tells us whether you're short of bone, what each type of graft involves, the options that sidestep grafting entirely, and the fee for each.
Is a Bone Graft Needed for a Dental Implant in Broughty Ferry?
Frequently not. It comes down to how much bone, in height and in width, remains where the tooth once stood, and the CT scan we take during your free consultation in Broughty Ferry measures that exactly. Where a graft is called for, a small one costs £535 and normally goes in alongside the implant at the same visit; a bigger rebuild is £998 and may need several months to mature before the implant goes in.
What the Scan Tells Us
No flat X-ray can settle this. It records the bone's height but reveals nothing about its thickness, and a ridge that looks healthy face-on can be wafer-thin from the cheek side to the tongue side. Our in-house CBCT scanner produces a full three-dimensional image in a few seconds (£160).
Working from that scan, our implant dentist measures the bone where the implant is intended to go and marks out the nerve in the lower jaw or the floor of the sinus in the upper. A virtual implant is then placed on screen. That produces one of three answers: the implant fits the bone you already have; it fits, though a small top-up beside it would add strength; or the ridge has to be rebuilt before anything else.
Where the Bone Went
Jawbone keeps its bulk because the forces of chewing travel down the tooth roots and into it. Remove the tooth and that stimulus disappears, so the body gradually reabsorbs the ridge. The bulk of the loss happens in the first few months, mostly across the width, then it carries on at a slower pace for years.
Certain things accelerate it: gum disease that has already eroded the bone, an abscess or cyst at the root tip, a difficult extraction, or a denture rubbing against the gum. This is why the treatment for somebody who lost a tooth last spring can differ markedly from that for somebody whose partial denture has been in since the 1990s.
Been Told You Haven't Enough Bone?
Come for a free consultation at our Broughty Ferry practice. A scan on our own machine shows exactly what bone you have, and we'll walk you through every option.
The Grafts We Carry Out
| Type | Used for | When | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small graft | A thin spot or a hollow alongside the implant | During the implant visit | £535 |
| Large graft | A ridge that's too narrow or too short to take an implant | Generally beforehand, with the implant placed a few months on | £998 |
| Sinus lift | Upper molars and premolars, where the sinus hangs low | Same visit or in stages, depending on what the scan shows | Priced in your written plan |
Most grafts are made from a sterile bone substitute: think of it as a mineral scaffold, held in position beneath a thin membrane, which your own bone slowly colonises and eventually replaces. Nothing has to be taken from elsewhere in your body, so there's just the one site to heal.
Avoiding a Graft Altogether
- Placing the implant promptly after extraction, before the ridge has begun to shrink, provided the socket is clean and healthy.
- Picking a shorter or narrower implant to suit the bone that exists. MegaGen AnyRidge implants are engineered to hold firmly even in softer bone.
- Angling the implant so that it reaches solid bone ahead of the sinus or clear of the nerve. This is exactly why full-arch treatment tilts its rear implants, and why it seldom needs grafting.
- A different kind of replacement, such as a bridge, where the graft required would make an implant difficult to justify.
If any of these is a better bet than grafting, we'll say so plainly and explain the reasoning.
Recovering From a Graft
Grafting is done under local anaesthetic, frequently in the same appointment as the implant, with IV sedation available if you'd rather (£500). For two or three days afterwards the area will be swollen and sore, and over-the-counter painkillers normally cope. Stick to soft food for roughly a week, chew on the opposite side, and leave the stitches alone, with neither tongue nor fingers.
Smoking is the most serious avoidable risk to a graft, since it starves the new bone of the blood supply it relies on. Diabetes that isn't well controlled and active gum disease slow healing too, so those get sorted first. At a review appointment we check that the site is knitting together properly.
Where the Graft Appears on Your Fee
Your written plan lists any graft on its own line, next to the implant and the crown, so what it adds is plain to see. An implant with a crown starts from £2,605 before any grafting; adding a small graft takes the total to £3,140, with the CT scan on top. Full-arch plans are built to avoid grafting wherever they can. For the full list of fees, see our implant cost guide; what the scan can tell us is described in the CT scan guide.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.