Dental Bone Graft Cost and Healing Time in Toronto
A dental bone graft adds bone to a part of your jaw that has thinned, usually so an implant has something solid to hold. It heals over months, not weeks, and the price depends on how much bone you need, where it goes, and who places it.
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Abinaash Kaur, DDS, RCDSO, on 2026-11-13. Dr. Kaur is a general dentist in Toronto (Bloor West Village) registered with the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario.
In my implant cost guide, a bone graft, sinus lift or ridge rebuild adds to the implant total "often $500 to $3,000 depending on the size of the area, which is a ballpark from my office rather than a guide figure". The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) doesn't help with any of it: "Implants and ridge augmentation are exclusions under the CDCP" (Canada.ca CDCP Dental Benefits Guide).
I've practised in Bloor West Village for more than 20 years, and "do I need a graft, and what will it cost?" is the question I hear most once an implant comes up. Here's the whole picture.
Why does the jawbone shrink after a tooth comes out?
Bone needs a job.
The ridge (the strip of jawbone that held the tooth) keeps its shape because the root loads it every time you chew. Take the root away and the ridge starts to narrow and lose height. A review of human re-entry studies found "horizontal bone loss of 29-63% and vertical bone loss of 11-22% after 6 months following tooth extraction," with the fastest changes in the first 3 to 6 months (PubMed).
In millimetres, a meta-analysis measured an average loss of ridge width of 2.73 mm at front and premolar sites, assessed clinically, and 3.61 mm at molar sites, assessed on X-rays (PubMed).
The Ontario Dental Association puts the consequence in one line: a bone graft "may also be necessary after an extraction" before an implant can go in (Ontario Dental Association).
None of that shrinking is a reason to panic about a gap. It's a reason to plan the gap before the tooth comes out, which is why my tooth extraction cost guide covers the replacement conversation too.
Socket preservation, ridge augmentation or sinus lift: which graft are we talking about?
Most people think "bone graft" is one procedure. It's three, and the price, the healing time and the odds are different for each.
Socket preservation. A graft placed in the empty socket on the day the tooth comes out, to slow the shrinking above. A meta-analysis of 22 randomized trials found that socket grafting, compared with extraction alone, prevents an average of 1.99 mm of horizontal bone loss, measured after a 3 to 6 month healing period (PubMed). Cochrane is more cautious. Its 2021 review says these techniques "may minimise the overall changes in residual ridge height and width six months after extraction but the evidence is very uncertain," and it found no evidence of a significant difference in the need for more grafting later or in implant failure (PubMed).
Ridge augmentation. A later graft to rebuild a ridge that has already shrunk, usually under a membrane (guided bone regeneration). A meta-analysis of horizontal rebuilds using membranes found a mean gain of 3.95 mm (PubMed). Height is harder: a review of vertical augmentation found a weighted mean gain of 4.16 mm and concluded that "complications are common" (PubMed).
Sinus lift. In the upper back jaw the sinus sits right above the molar roots, so there's often not enough bone height for an implant. A sinus lift raises the sinus floor and packs bone beneath it. The Journal of the Canadian Dental Association calls the lateral window version "highly recommended" when bone height is under 6 mm, and notes that "implants are placed either simultaneously or after the graft has healed" (JCDA).
One more, because the search box keeps mixing them up: a gum graft is soft tissue placed over an exposed root. It isn't a bone graft. My gum graft guide covers that one.
Where does the bone come from?
Four places, and no, it isn't always yours.
The Journal of the Canadian Dental Association sorts graft material into "autogenic, allogeneic, xenogeneic or synthetic" (JCDA). In plain words: your own bone, bone from a human donor, bone from an animal (usually cow), or a man-made mineral.
Your own bone is still called "the gold standard" in that journal, because it carries living cells. The catch is that it has to come from somewhere in your mouth or body, which means "a second (donor-site) procedure" (JCDA).
A review of sinus grafts done with own bone or with substitutes found that "Clear reasons could not be identified" to prefer one, and that harvesting own bone added donor-site complications and operating time (PubMed).
Donor and animal bone are processed to strip out the living cells, leaving a scaffold that your own bone slowly grows through. With properly screened and prepared donor bone, the JCDA puts the disease-transmission risk at "only 1 in 2.8 billion" (JCDA).
Did you know about this? Most patients picture a donor graft as risky and their own bone as free, and the evidence runs the other way on both counts.
A network meta-analysis of 88 trials ranked animal-derived and human-donor materials as "the most predictable materials" for holding ridge width and height, while "spontaneous healing ranked last" (PubMed).
Health Canada reviews these materials as medical devices. Its list of dental devices approved in 2018 includes bone graft substitutes: one is labelled bovine (cow), and another lists uses such as "maxillary sinus lift for implant" and "alveolar bone augmentation/restoration" (Health Canada). Which material goes in your jaw is a conversation with whoever places the graft.
Want a number for your own mouth? Book a visit and we'll walk you through the estimate before any treatment. Book a visit
What does healing feel like, week by week?
Have no fear! A graft is minor oral surgery, and it feels like minor oral surgery: freezing, pressure, a sore few days, then a long quiet stretch where the work happens out of sight.
Here's the timeline the Canadian Dental Association gives for care after minor oral surgery, the category a graft belongs to:
- The first two days. Once the freezing wears off, some pain is normal, and you "might have the most pain in the first 24 to 48 hours" (Canadian Dental Association). Expect bleeding for the first hour or two, oozing for up to 24 hours, and some swelling in the first day.
- Days 3 to 7. Soreness at the site "may last for 3 to 5 days," and swelling "may last for 5 to 7 days" (Canadian Dental Association). Bruising can follow and last up to 10 days, and your jaw may be stiff for 7 to 10 days.
- Weeks 1 and 2. Avoid alcohol and tobacco for the first 2 weeks, because they make it harder for blood to clot and easier for an infection to start (Canadian Dental Association).
- Months 1 to 6. Nothing to feel. The graft is slowly being replaced by your own bone, and there's no shortcut for that. Studies of socket grafts measure their results "after a 3- to 6-month healing period" (PubMed), and the Cochrane review only counted trials that followed sockets for at least six months (PubMed). In one Canadian case series, implants went into grafted molar sites at 6, 9 and 12 months (JCDA). After that the implant itself has to bond to the bone, which "can take several months" (Canadian Dental Association).
When should you call? The CDA's list: a fever, pain that isn't getting better a full day or more after surgery, swelling that's still getting worse after 2 days, or bleeding you can't control after 4 hours by pressing firmly on gauze (Canadian Dental Association). Pain that starts on day 3 or 4 after an extraction is the dry socket pattern, and my day-by-day recovery guide covers it.
Some days the schedule pushes me, and even then we go through the scan together before anyone talks about a graft.
What can go wrong, honestly?
Pretty much every graft type has a known failure list, and I'd rather you read it here first.
For socket grafts, Cochrane's review reported no serious adverse events. The problems it did record included "postoperative pain and swelling," delayed healing with part of the socket wall exposed when stitches came out, "membrane exposure and partial loss of grafting material" (PubMed).
For ridge rebuilds, the most frequent problem is the membrane showing through the gum. One meta-analysis put the complication rate at 8.4%, with membrane exposure the most frequent (PubMed). For height-building, complication rates ran from 12.1% with guided bone regeneration to 23.9% with bone blocks (PubMed).
For sinus lifts, the thin sinus lining tears during surgery more often than people expect. A meta-analysis of 1,598 sinus lifts found a perforation rate of 30.6%, and concluded that a repaired tear "is not a risk factor for dental implant survival," with 97.68% survival under repaired linings and 98.88% under intact ones (PubMed). A review comparing sinus lifts with implants placed in untouched bone found similar survival but "a greater incidence of surgical complications associated with the sinus lift procedure" (PubMed).
Ontario's regulator keeps its own list. Its professional liability program names the implant complications that end up in lawsuits as post-operative infection, implant failure, "bone graft failure," paraesthesia (numbness) and "sinus involvement" (RCDSO Professional Liability Program).
Then the number that matters most: implants in grafted bone hold. A systematic review of standard implants placed in rebuilt bone found a cumulative survival of 97.94% (PubMed), and the JCDA cites survival in grafted sinus bone "ranging from 88.6% to 100% (mean 97.7%, median 98.8%)" (JCDA).
One older review adds a caveat I agree with: "implant survival may be a function of residual bone supporting the dental implant rather than grafted bone" (PubMed). The bone you still have does a lot of the work.
What does a bone graft cost in Toronto?
The only graft figure I've published is in my implant cost guide: a bone graft, sinus lift or ridge rebuild adds "often $500 to $3,000 depending on the size of the area, which is a ballpark from my office rather than a guide figure". In the same guide a single implant "usually costs $3,000 to $6,500 all-in", against a national per-tooth range of about $1,000 to $6,000 that insurer guides publish (Canada Life).
Why such a wide range for the graft alone? Five things move it:
- Which graft. A socket graft on extraction day is the smallest job. A sinus lift or a ridge rebuild with a membrane is a longer surgery with more material.
- How much bone. The "size of the area" in the quote above.
- The material and the membrane. Donor, animal-derived and synthetic materials are bought by the vial, and a membrane is a separate item. Ontario's regulator says estimates "should include the cost of additional expense of materials (at cost) and laboratory fees (at cost)" (Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario).
- Who places it. The CDA says your dentist or a dental specialist will tell you if a graft can be done, and names periodontists and oral surgeons as the specialists who place implants (Canadian Dental Association). Specialists' fees "may be higher" (Ontario Dental Association).
- Imaging. A 3D scan is how we see the bone before anyone quotes, and it can be its own line on the bill.
Estimates are rarely given without an exam, and you have the right to a second opinion (Ontario Dental Association). Try this: ask for the graft, the implant and the crown as three separate lines on one written estimate.
Will the CDCP, OHIP or a private plan pay for it?
Not the public plans.
The CDCP is blunt about it: "Implants and ridge augmentation are exclusions under the CDCP" (Canada.ca CDCP Dental Benefits Guide). Its exclusion list names "bone grafts" alongside "implants and all implant-related procedures," and the same guide says "Exclusions are never eligible for reconsideration" (Canada.ca CDCP Dental Benefits Guide). If you're a cardholder with a missing tooth, the covered route is removable; my partial denture guide and my bridge vs implant comparison lay out that trade.
OHIP doesn't cover "dental services provided in a dentist's office" (Ontario.ca). Its in-hospital dental list is fracture repair, tumour removal, reconstructive surgery and medically necessary tooth removal with prior approval, and a graft for an implant isn't on it. My OHIP dental guide has the full picture.
Private plans are the one place worth looking. Canada Life's own guide says "Many health insurance plans don't cover dental implants, however, some do" (Canada Life). As an example of the wording to look for, one Canada Life sample rider lists "augmentation of the alveolar bone," "reconstruction of the alveolar ridge" and "related surgical grafts" under denture-related surgery, paid at 50% up to $750 a year (Canada Life sample rider). Your booklet will differ, so send the written estimate in as a predetermination before anything starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How long does a dental bone graft take to heal? The sore part lasts days: the most pain in the first 24 to 48 hours, soreness for 3 to 5 days and swelling for 5 to 7 days, per the Canadian Dental Association's minor oral surgery timeline (Canadian Dental Association). The bone part takes months. Socket-graft studies measure results "after a 3- to 6-month healing period" (PubMed), and in one Canadian case series implants went into grafted sites at 6, 9 and 12 months (JCDA). Your dentist sets your timing from the scan, not from a calendar.
Q: Does a bone graft hurt? It's done with freezing, so you feel pressure, not pain, during the procedure. Afterward, expect the same first days as any minor oral surgery, with the most pain in the first 24 to 48 hours (Canadian Dental Association). Socket grafts placed without lifting the gum were linked with less post-operative pain than grafts placed under a flap (PubMed).
Q: Is a bone graft the same as a gum graft? No. A bone graft adds bone to the jaw so an implant has support (Canadian Dental Association). A gum graft adds soft tissue over an exposed root, and it's covered in our gum graft guide.
Q: Does the CDCP cover bone grafts? No. The CDCP Dental Benefits Guide states that "Implants and ridge augmentation are exclusions under the CDCP," lists "bone grafts" among its exclusions, and says exclusions "are never eligible for reconsideration" (Canada.ca CDCP Dental Benefits Guide). Private plans vary, so check your booklet.
Q: Can I skip the sinus lift and get a shorter implant instead? Sometimes, and it's a fair question to ask. A Cochrane review of short implants (5 to 8.5 mm) versus sinus lifts in bone 4 to 9 mm high found the evidence insufficient to show a difference in implant or prosthesis failure a year after loading, but it did find "more complications at sites treated with sinus lift procedures" (PubMed). Whether a short implant fits your bone is a scan-and-exam call.
Q: How much does a bone graft cost in Toronto? The figure I've published is "often $500 to $3,000 depending on the size of the area, which is a ballpark from my office rather than a guide figure," in our implant cost guide. Ontario estimates can be given as a low-to-high range, and dentists must tell you if they charge above the fee guide (Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario). A real number needs an exam and a scan.
Reviewed by Dr. Abinaash Kaur, DDS (University of Western Ontario), who has practised general and family dentistry in Bloor West Village for more than 20 years. This article is general information, not a diagnosis or a quote. The graft and implant figures are a published ballpark from our office, not a fee schedule.
Been told you need a graft before an implant and want a second set of eyes on the scan? We're at 750 Annette Street in Bloor West Village, serving the Junction, High Park, and Baby Point. Book a consult with The Village Dentist and we'll show you the bone you have, tell you honestly whether a graft is needed, and put the graft, the implant and the crown on one written estimate.
