Hi,
I need my lower first molar (next to the bicuspid) extracted soon, due to decay/infection and probably cracked tooth under a crown (with a previous root canal). I have bone loss. My dentist, who is wonderful, feels a mini-implant wouldn't be successful in this situation. I'm hoping he's wrong!
Is it possible to have a successful mini-implant without a bone graft, when there's bone loss?
I have a consult with a local oral surgeon in two days (I don't believe he does mini-implants). I'm told he would do a bone graft at the time of extraction, but I don't want a bone graft. Thank you.

Cheri,

I think if the extraction is done with care to preserve the bone on the cheek side you should be a good candidate for a mini implant and a crown.

If there is not enough bone to place the mini implants the day of extraction you should consider a socket preservation. This is different than a bone graft. To preserve the socket all your dentist will do is to fill the extraction site with some bone putty....totally painless and done right after the roots are out.

Of course bone loss is a concern and your dentist will want to ensure that any active perio disease is under control prior to placing minis. But that is one advantage of the mini...if you have lost bone the mini implant is better suited to take advantage of that reduced width and height of bone.

Best of luck,

Paresh B Patel DDS