Sam I'll give you my implantologists name he would be the guy to ask as I never needed bone grafts , luckily. He used a new technique on one tooth that was lacking bone but no graft.
I've had 12 implants and crowns done. It did take longer for my mouth to fully heal than a normal persons. One tooth you should not need a bone graft imo. Bone grafts won't protect your gums?

They just use cadiver bone and it grafts itself to your current bone. IIRC its takes months for the bone to regrow. (3-4months) Again there are other types of implants that require no bone grafts. But my dentist could anser that for you. He has done thousands of them and none of mine failed. They feel very natural and very strong. My doctor used a very different technique to take the teeth out to preserve the gums.
As for a flare if you worry about the procedure you will flare anyway. As for the immune system no worries. I have cages in my back w/bone grafts they are solid bone , no issues whatsoever. PM, me if you'd like to call my implantologist. He is a super nice guy but to answer your questions he would need xrays probably.

As for a small bone graft and permanent flare , no worries. Two different things. I seriously doubt you need a bone graft for the back tooth. I had one back tooth done but there is a tooth in front of and in back of it they are fine.

Tom - I decided to just have the tooth pulled and no bone graft. But thanks for the offer about the implantologist. The graft the periodontist was going to use was from a bovine source. I was worried since I have recently had bad reactions to two different medications - really set my immunne system into overdrive. Of course the doctors had told me it only happens in rare cases and not to worry about it. Anyway, thanks for the info!

Sam ,

Glad you made a decision ask them to drill the tooth out if you are having an implant done , not pull it. It protects your gums and they barely recede using that procedure. Not sure how much experience your dentist has though might not even know about the technique.

It sucks , but longterm you are better off for ajoining teeth. I seriously would'nt worry about it. My dentist is top notch and he did mine for a very fair price. He wanted to work on a Sjogrens patient using implants , I was his first one with serious Sjogrens. He's done others but they had mild dryness not desert dry like me.

Glad to hear from you Sam! Hope all is well.....

Thanks for sharing this stuff. Good info. I have lots of trouble with my teeth and have been curious about this. I also have a mouth that is like a desert. My dentist tells me I have the driest mouth he has ever seen. But because of this, he accomadates the best he can with extra water when he is working on my teeth so it is not so bad.

I had my first implant in October and I wish I had had this information. I had to have a graft, but the periodontist used the bone fragments she got from my own jawbone. Don't know exactly how that was done, but it seems to have worked. It has healed in the normal amount of time, but I did have a long Sjogren's flare, and the antibiotic I had to take, clindimycin, caused a bout of c-dif diarrhea whose effects I still deal with. I do get my new implant tomorrow. Looking forward to having a tooth there! Several years ago, before I had the Sjogren's diagnosis, I had to have a tooth pulled (the same tooth on the other side), and I elected to get a bridge instead of an implant. Now I worry that I will lose the teeth the bridge attaches to, and I will be toothless there, with nothing but a shriveled jawbone.

Gail - I wouldn't worry too much about losing the tooth next to it. I have two friends that said they just had the tooth pulled several years ago and the gum and tooth next to it are still fine. Maybe it depends on where the tooth is located.

I did read that if you get a bone graft that the best way to go is with material from your own jaw bone. Sorry to hear you had some problems though.

I have all implants in my mouth, and occasional bone grafts are considered maintenance. I have not had a new bone graft in three or four years, but I will need another one later this year. This will be my first one since my diagnosis of RA with secondary SS. I had to go off my meds recently due to an infection, it wasn't pleasant! Yuck; I can't wait until it is over with!

C-dif get on probiotics and enzymes !!! Give them a long while to work 6 months minimum. I'm sure you know this if not get started! Works great if you use the right ones.

One of my dogs got it bad ....he was cured in a few months. He had a serious tick illness that even affected his brain. He was given several courses of antibiotics until he fully recovered. But it messed up his digestive system something awful.