If you are missing a tooth, getting a dental implant is the best solution available at the moment and is highly recommended by dental professionals. Dental implants are actually extremely common with over 3 million Americans having installed dental implants already, and an additional 500,000 opting for the procedure every year. If you require a dental implant at the back region of the upper jaw, your dental surgeon will need to perform a thorough examination in order to determine whether you have sufficient bone present. If not, a sinus bone grafting may be needed. This article will take a look at what sinus bone grafting is, the types of bones that can be used, and how to avoid the surgery entirely when getting dental implants.
What Is Sinus Bone Grafting?
Sinus bone grafting is a surgical procedure that aims to build bone height in the back of the upper jaw in order to ensure that there is a higher success rate of dental implantation. After you have lost a tooth, the underlying bone that was responsible for holding the tooth in place will undergo atrophy. In other words, it will begin to deteriorate. Atrophy happens gradually over time; however, you can expect a 25% decrease in bone width within the first year after the tooth has been lost.
During a sinus bone grafting, additional bone will be added overtop the existing base. Over time, the artificial bone that has been added will fuse with your jawbone and become one.
What Type of Bones Are Used?
If a sinus bone grafting is needed, dental surgeons will use either autologous bone or artificial materials that are biocompatible with your body. While autologous bone is the most traditional, having to collect and harvest bone from other parts of your body can be painful and tedious. As a result, most dental surgeons now opt for artificial alternatives. Calcium phosphate nano-crystal coated xenogenic bone is generally most popular and is highly recommended by dental surgeons, as patients do not have to go through the tedious and complicated procedures involved in collecting autologous bone.
Artificial alternatives, like calcium phosphate nano-crystal coated xenogenic bone, have been known to offer amazing results. Recent studies have shown that patients can expect roughly 24.86% +/- 7.59% new bone growth and 38.20% +/- 13.19% of connective tissue growth around the artificial bone graft. The increase in bone height associated with the sinus grafting will be reduced slightly several months after the procedure, but the deterioration will level off and the bone height and width will remain relatively stable to support the dental implant.
How Can You Avoid Sinus Bone Grafting Entirely?
Sinus bone grafting is not fun at all, and it will complicate the dental implantation procedure. Avoiding the need for a sinus bone grafting will be in your best interest. You can avoid getting a sinus bone grafting entirely by:
- getting the implant immediately after the tooth is extracted. In this situation, bone loss will be minimal and the bone that is available should be sufficient to support the dental implant.
- figuring out which tooth may be loose, and extracting it at the dental office on the same day that the dental implant will be installed. This recommendation is similar to getting the implant immediately after the tooth is extracted; however, for this recommendation, your dental surgeon will need to perform ongoing and thorough examinations of your dental condition to determine which tooth may be facing the risk of becoming loose. Careful monitoring of the condition of all teeth will be imperative.
- performing a bone graft of the socket when the implant is being installed. A bone graft of the socket is different than a sinus bone graft because you are not adding bone to the sinus area but rather preserving bone height and preventing any future collapse.
Conclusion
If you wait too long or have too much bone loss, sinus bone grafting will not be an option, but rather a necessity in order to secure and support the dental implant. If you require sinus bone grafting, then your dental surgeon will need to perform the bone grafting first and give you time to heal before installing the dental implant. This will not only increase the overall procedure time, but will also increase the cost of your final dental bill. Contact a dentist like Dale D. Lentz DDS today to find out if you're a good candidate for dental implants.