Sillim Dentist — Can Bone Grafts Fail, Too?

Hello. I am Kang Dong-ho, the director of Yonsei U-Line Dental Clinic, Sillim Branch, located in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu.

Today, I would like to talk about bone graft failures.

Are you wondering whether a bone graft can fail?

Yes, unfortunately, bone grafts can fail as well.

In such cases, many people tend to look to the dentist for the cause.

However, speaking from the perspective of someone who has performed many bone grafts, the truth is that failures are much more often caused by the patient’s own gum condition or lifestyle habits.

When I see a patient with good gum health, even a very difficult bone graft often turns out well.

Conversely, even when we do our very best and perform the surgery carefully, patients whose overall circumstances are unfavorable may often have poor surgical outcomes.

In particular, the failure rate tends to be relatively higher among men.

In my experience, the bone graft failure rate among male patients is more than twice that of female patients.

To put it somewhat exaggeratedly, if 10 bone grafts failed, about 9 of those cases would involve men.

Of course, some patients have systemic conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

However, in most cases, alcohol and cigarettes have a major impact.

The failure rate is particularly high among men in their 50s and 60s who are actively involved in social life.

Another important point is that many people who smoke sometimes hide that fact.

When the outcome is poor after the procedure and we investigate the cause, there are quite a few cases in which we only learn about the patient’s smoking through a family member or caregiver.

As a result, it can be said that smoking accounts for a fairly significant proportion of the causes of bone graft failure.

Many people also tend to underestimate dental treatment or surgery.

They may think it is simple because it is performed inside the mouth, but in fact, the mouth is not an ideal environment for surgery.

Bacteria are always present, and we also have to keep eating and drinking.

That is why post-surgical care is extremely important.

It is also essential to get your gums clean and healthy before surgery.

This helps lower the likelihood of failure, but there are also occasional cases where the preparation process is not carried out properly.

Most patients understand the importance of this, but many ask to have the procedure done right away because the preparation takes time.

In fact, even from the surgeon’s perspective, it is difficult to control everything perfectly.

That is because there are so many factors unrelated to the surgery itself.

So what we can do is explain everything sufficiently to the patient and perform the surgery as safely and carefully as possible.

So, what should you do to achieve a successful bone graft?

The most important thing is to take good care of yourself.

Managing your overall health and immune system before and after the procedure is very important.

If you are fatigued or your immune function is low, the likelihood of failure is much higher.

You should also be sure to avoid alcohol, smoking, strenuous exercise, and hot saunas.

In particular, if men carefully follow these guidelines, the success rate improves considerably.

By contrast, the failure rate among women is relatively much lower.

This seems to be due to differences in lifestyle habits and how they manage their care.

It is better when everything goes well the first time, isn’t it? It is much better than having to go through the trouble twice.

In other words, if you pay attention to your care after a bone graft, the success rate will naturally increase, so you do not need to be overly afraid of failure.