Do I Need an Oral Surgeon for Bone Grafting?

Question submitted by: Troy

I need to get some bone grafting done in order to be prepared for getting dental implants. My dentist sent me to a prosthodontist for the dental implants because he doesn’t do them. However, I was thinking I would need an oral surgeon for the bone grafting first. When I went to see the prosthodontist, I asked him for a referral and he said he does them himself. Is that safe?

Troy

Dear Troy,

Thank you for writing. I can appreciate your caution and wanting to get the best care possible. This is especially important when it comes to the dental implant procedure. This is one of the most advanced procedures in dentistry and there are countless horror stories where patients suffered severe nerve and jaw damage by dentists who botched it.

A prosthodontist is a great start. They have additional specialized training in dental restorations. As to whether you need an oral surgeon for your bone grafting procedure, that depends on the dentist or prosthodontist. There are several who do these procedures. Not just bone grafting but sinus lifts and other more advanced procedures. If they’ve been trained for them you are just fine. I would ask how long they’ve been doing them, where they received their training, and what their success rate is.

Make sure whatever training they received is not just in dental school. It needs to be post-doctoral training. Ideally, they are someone who also does more than the minimum of continuing education. The dental field is advancing rapidly and you want a dentist who keeps up with those advances.

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