Hi diaba,

Good to hear that you are having that infected tooth removed.... your immune system will thank you for that :-)

With regard to having a bone graft after the removal of that tooth...

One.. bone graft should not be placed in an extraction site if the jawbone is infected. Ideally in that case, a small second surgery would be done in the surgical site about 2-4 weeks after the extraction of the tooth. Bone graft material and infected bone do not mingle well together. Sometimes, the infected bone is able to be debrided at the time of the extraction and so long as there is a good solid bone remaining with a good blood flow, the graft can be placed with much success.

Two... Bone graft material is placed in the socket of the extracted tooth to stimulate new growth of bone. The body eventually resorbs the graft material and replaces it with your own bone.... which helps to keep a fuller more natural curvature of the bone instead of a hollow depression where the tooth use to be.

Three.. There is some concern and controversy about placing bone graft material in patients who have any chronic medical condition such as lymes or any autoimmune disorder. The pros and cons should be discussed with your dentist and possibly your physician as well. It is an individual decision based on your overall health history and present well being.

Please let us know how everything goes... I'm sure you will be just fine

Bryanna