Bone augmentation, often called bone grafting, is a procedure to replace atrophied or missing bone in the jaw. This procedure is required when the jaw cannot incorporate dental implants successfully. When the bone mass is too thin or soft to keep an implant in place, bone augmentation helps the bone fuse to the dental implant and keep it secure. If a dental implant is placed in a jaw when the bone structure is insufficient, the likelihood of the implant failing increases. The jaw bone maintains its health through the constant motion and pressure of chewing. Because of this, a missing tooth or multiple missing teeth that are left unreplaced will cause your jaw bone to break down and resorb. Even if a tooth has been missing for a year, 25% of the bone has already deteriorated in that period. To avoid bone loss, replacing the lost natural tooth with an immediate dental implant is recommended.