Patients who are in need of dental implant treatment may sometimes require bone grafting to strengthen and build up the jawbone.
When you lose a tooth or a tooth is extracted, your own jawbone can start to shrink away quite rapidly as it is only present to hold your natural teeth in place.
A bone graft may be necessary to ensure that there is enough height and width of bone for the dental implants to fuse into place, a bit like building good foundations for a house once the foundations are strong and secure we can ensure that the implants on top will last a long time. Jawbone loss can result from ageing, gum disease, missing teeth, lengthy denture wear or injury.
What is a Bone Graft?
Dental implants are inserted in the patient's bone, so the amount of jawbone should be sufficient for placing an implant. Unfortunately sometimes this is not the case, because the maxillary and mandibular bones may be slightly or severely resorbed.
Bone resorption can be pathological (due to gum disease, trauma, tooth extraction, acute infection...) or physiological (age-related).
In these cases it is not possible to insert a dental implant unless a bone augmentation procedure is performed.
Bone grafting is necessary where there is not sufficient bone to allow the insertion of dental implants and prevent thread exposure. Exposed implant threads might mean sensitivity, pain and complications for the patient over time.
Bone grafting materials
The most common material used for bone grafting is Bio-Oss® from Geistlich Biomaterials®. The bone graft is often used in association with a collagen derived membrane (Bio-Gide®), that stabilizes the bone chips and promotes new bone formation.
Geistlich biomaterials® have been tested, utilized and proven for more than 25 years. The use of these biomaterials began in 1986 and continues today with more than 900 scientific publications in the scientific literature. More than 6 million patients have been treated with Geistlich bone substitutes. Over 1.5 million patients have been successfully treated with Geistlich® collagen membranes.
Dr Marco Benigni DDS, PhD, MSc
Will I need it?
As part of your initial consultation and diagnosis, Dr. Marco Benigni will use X-rays or a computer tomography (CT) scan to take images of your jawbone, to ensure that it is thick and strong enough for dental implant treatment. We can then advise you on the most suitable bone grafting technique for you.
Types of Bone Grafts Procedures
There are several types of bone graft procedures, depending on the anatomy of the patient's jawbone. They could be resumed in:
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sinus lift procedure
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horizontal bone augmentation
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vertical bone augmentation
Horizontal and Vertical Bone Augmentation Procedures
The use of membranes to promote bone regeneration following the principles of the guided bone regeneration (GBR) has become a standard of care in dentistry to correct bone defects at sites scheduled for implant placement, and the efficacy of such procedure has been largely confirmed by long-term clinical results. These surgical techniques are used to treat bone defects where the resorption caused a concave-shape healing of the bone after tooth extraction.
Sinus Lift
The pathological or physiological maxillary bone resorption leads
to a progressive enlargment of the maxillary sinuses, often associated
with a progressive resorption of the jawbone. The maxillary sinuses
are located inside the maxillary bone, in the back area of the upper jaw.
They are air-filled spaces that can get larger after the extraction of your
teeth. A poor amount of bone is a limit for implant insertion.
Cases where there is not enough space between the sinus cavity and
upper jawbone may require a sinus lift bone augmentation.
With a sinus lift procedure, the inner sinus membrane can be lifted
into the sinus cavity, so that there is enough space to insert dental implants.
The use of Bio-Oss® as filling material in the sinus lift
procedure is well documented in the literature and leads to very good results
with very high predictability.
Take the first step replace that missing tooth and you will never look back!
TESTIMONIALS
I am grateful for the enthusiasm, time and expertise that I have been fortunate enough to benefit from.
Michael Sharp
I never thought I would be able to have Implants. Marco was outstanding. I now have teeth to enjoy food and smile comfortably again!
Sarah Young