Simpsonville Location
634 Fairview Road, Building C
Simpsonville, SC 29680
(864) 967-4000
Victor P. Lebedovych, DDS
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
Anderson Location
301 W. Beltline Blvd. Suite 301
Anderson, SC 29625
(864) 967-4000
Simpsonville Location
634 Fairview Road, Building C
Simpsonville, SC 29680
(864) 967-4000
Victor P. Lebedovych, DDS
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
Anderson Location
301 W. Beltline Blvd. Suite 301
Anderson, SC 29625
(864) 967-4000
Over a period of time, the jawbone associated with missing teeth atrophies or is reabsorbed. This often leaves a condition in which there is poor quality and quantity of bone suitable for the placement of dental implants. In these situations, most patients are not candidates for the placement of dental implants.
Today, we have the ability to grow bone where needed. This not only gives us the opportunity to place implants of proper length and width, but it also gives us a chance to restore functionality and esthetic appearance.
Bone grafting can repair implant sites with inadequate bone structure due to previous extractions, gum disease, or injuries. The bone is either obtained from a tissue bank or your own bone is taken from the jaw, hip or tibia (below the knee.) Sinus bone grafts are also performed to replace bone in the posterior upper jaw. In addition, special membranes may be utilized that dissolve under the gum, protect the bone graft and encourage bone regeneration. This is called guided bone regeneration or guided tissue regeneration.
Major bone grafts are typically performed to repair defects in the jaws. These defects may arise as a result of traumatic injuries, tumor surgery, or congenital defects. Large defects are repaired using the patient’s own bone. This bone is harvested from a number of different sites, depending on the size of the defect. The skull (cranium), hip (iliac crest), and lateral knee (tibia) are common donor sites. These procedures are routinely performed in an operating room and require a hospital stay.
The maxillary sinuses are behind your cheeks and on top of the upper teeth. Sinuses are like empty rooms that have nothing in them. Some of the roots of the natural upper teeth extend up into the maxillary sinuses. When these upper teeth are removed, there is often just a thin wall of bone separating the maxillary sinus and the mouth. Dental implants need bone to hold them in place. When the sinus wall is very thin, it is impossible to place dental implants in this bone.
There is a solution and it’s called a sinus graft or sinus lift graft. There are two types of sinus lifts 1) minimally invasive vertical sinus lift and 2) the more invasive sinus window approach. Both procedures require the dental implant surgeon enters the sinus from where the upper teeth used to be. The sinus membrane is then lifted upward and either donor bone or the patient’s own bone is inserted into the floor of the sinus. Keep in mind that the floor of the sinus is the roof of the upper jaw. After several months of healing, the bone becomes part of the patient’s jaw and dental implants can be inserted and stabilized in this new sinus bone.
The sinus graft makes it possible for many patients to have dental implants, when years ago there was no other option other than wearing loose dentures.
If enough bone between the upper jaw ridge and the bottom of the sinus is available to stabilize the implant well, sinus augmentations and implant placement can sometimes be performed as a single procedure. If not enough bone is available, the sinus augmentation will have to be performed first, and then the graft will have to mature for several months, depending upon the type of graft material used. Once the graft has matured, the implants can be placed.
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