Sometimes patients ask how will the bone grafted area look afterwards. We often “graft” the area after the removal of an infected tooth or cyst. We always attempt to buildup the destroyed bone during the same procedure using different types of grafting material, even including stem cells. In order to protect the grafted material, we place a membrane on top of the material and then close over the sites with sutures.
This is a picture of a case we just did this morning, subsequent to an infected tooth. The white material is the “membrane” which acts like a bandaid to protect the area. The black strings are “sutures” that hold everything to gether. In about 3-4 weeks both the sutures and the white membrane are removed. In some instances the sutures are removed earlier. We will typically wait a few months to confirm the return of quality bone prior to placement of an implant.
