If your scan shows a ridge too narrow or too low to hold an implant, the bone can be rebuilt with a graft. How much is missing, and where, decides the technique and the wait.
The first visit is an examination and CBCT review. The written plan includes any option that avoids grafting.
Ridge augmentation is bone grafting that rebuilds the part of the jaw that held the teeth, the alveolar ridge, when it has become too narrow (horizontal loss) or too low (vertical loss) for a dental implant. Most cases use guided bone regeneration: graft granules held under a membrane while new bone grows. Larger defects may need a block graft. At Creative Arts in Dubai, the defect is measured on a CBCT scan before any graft is proposed.
Typical ranges; smoking, diabetes control and the size of the defect change them.
Width is lost first and is easier to rebuild; height is harder to regain.
| Horizontal (width) loss | Vertical (height) loss | |
|---|---|---|
| What the scan shows | A ridge tall enough but too thin, sometimes with a knife-edge top | A ridge that has lost height, leaving a dip compared with the bone next to it |
| Usual approach | Guided bone regeneration with granules and a membrane; sometimes a block graft | Reinforced membranes or block grafts, usually staged |
| Implant at the same time? | Often, if the implant is stable and only part of it lacks cover | Usually not; the graft heals first |
| Typical healing | Around four to six months when staged | Often six to nine months or more |
| Predictability | Generally predictable in suitable cases | More demanding; gains are smaller and complications more likely |
General patterns; many defects combine both. In the upper back jaw, missing height is usually added under the sinus with a sinus lift instead.
Jaw bone stays only while it has work to do. After a tooth is lost the ridge remodels: it narrows first, mostly from the cheek or lip side, and over the years can lose height. Loss is greater where the socket was damaged at extraction, where gum disease or an abscess destroyed bone, where a removable denture has pressed on the ridge, or where an implant failed.
A routine X-ray shows height but not width, so ridge augmentation is planned on a CBCT 3D scan, which shows the ridge in cross-section, the nerve canal in the lower jaw, the sinus and the neighbouring roots. The implant is positioned digitally where the final tooth needs to be, and the graft is planned to fill the gap between that position and the bone you have. Where a tooth is still to be removed, socket preservation can often avoid a larger graft later.
The technique is chosen for the shape of the defect. The graft material itself is a separate choice, compared in our guide to types of dental bone graft.
The most common approach
For some larger defects
Simultaneous approach
Grafting is proposed when the scan shows the implant cannot otherwise sit in the right place.
Medical history, gum health and a 3D scan. The written, itemised plan states the technique, material, implant timing and any option without grafting.
Visit 1The implant is planned where the final tooth needs it, and the graft around that position. A 3D-printed surgical guide is made in the lab where the case calls for it.
Before surgeryUnder local anaesthesia, with sedation if agreed, the gum is lifted, the graft placed and covered with a membrane, and the gum closed without tension.
SurgerySwelling and any bruising peak in the first days. Stitches are reviewed at around two weeks.
Weeks 1–2New bone forms through the graft. A scan confirms the result before the implant stage.
Typically 4–9 monthsThe implant is placed if staged, allowed to integrate, then restored with a crown made in Creative Art Dental Lab, in the same building.
After healingLarger grafts carry more risk than routine implant surgery; these are the ones to understand first.
If the gum opens over the graft, the membrane can become exposed and part of the graft lost. It needs prompt review, not self-treatment.
Pain or swelling that rises after the third day, or a bad taste, can signal infection, which is treated early to protect the graft.
Some shrinkage of the graft is expected, so it is slightly overbuilt. A scan before the implant checks the bone that formed.
Taking bone from the lower jaw can irritate a nerve, causing numbness of the lip or chin that is usually temporary. The scan maps the nerve first.
Pressure is the main threat to a new graft. Do not wear a removable denture or temporary tooth over the site until your dentist has adjusted it, chew on the other side and avoid smoking. The bone graft recovery guide explains each stage.
Grafting is priced within the full implant plan; the dental implant cost guide covers the implant side.
Dr. Firas Osman, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon & Implantologist, assesses and performs ridge augmentation, including larger and block grafts. Dr. Khalid Saeed and Dr. Kinan Bonni plan and place implants and carry out routine grafting at implant placement. See all our oral and maxillofacial surgery services.
Typically about four to six months for a staged width graft, and often six to nine months or more for height gains or block grafts. When a small graft is placed with the implant, the two heal together. A scan confirms the bone before the next stage.
Often, when the existing bone holds the implant firmly in the right position and only part of it lacks cover. If the ridge is too thin or too low to stabilise the implant, the graft is done first and the implant placed once it has healed.
Expect swelling and sometimes bruising, peaking around the second or third day and settling over one to two weeks, with soreness usually managed by over-the-counter pain relief. Recovery is more noticeable when bone is taken from a second site.
Own-bone blocks are usually taken from inside the mouth, from behind the last lower molar or from the chin. Processed donor or animal-derived blocks avoid a second surgical site. Your surgeon explains which is proposed and why.
Part or all of a graft can be lost, most often because the wound opens, infection develops, the site is pressed on, or the patient smokes. Small losses may not matter; larger ones may need regrafting or a change of plan.
Smoking and poorly controlled diabetes both slow bone healing and raise the risk of graft failure. Many people with well-controlled diabetes are treated, and smokers are strongly advised to stop around surgery and healing.
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