Bone Grafting / Augmentation

A successful dental implant needs a healthy jawbone to support it. In some situations, patients may have a development defect that has left them with jawbones that are too short or too narrow. Additionally, when a tooth is missing for any length of time, the jawbone degenerates or is reabsorbed, leaving poor quality and quantity of bone underneath. When this happens, patients require a procedure to add bone to their jaw prior to the placement of dental implants.

Luckily, advancements in dental technology can grow bone where needed, giving Dr. Eklund the ability to place implants of proper length and width.

Major Bone Grafting

Major bone grafts are typically performed to repair defects of the jaws.These defects may arise as a result of traumatic injuries, tumor surgery, or congenital defects.The bone grafting (adding) procedure involves harvesting your own bone from your chin, the back part of your lower jaw, skull, hip, rib, or tibia. Bone can also be taken from a tissue bank, from a cadaver, or synthetic materials can be used. Additionally, your own platelet rich plasma can be used to accelerate bone growth.

The new bone material is added to your jaw and given several months to fuse to the existing bone. In addition, special membranes that dissolve under the gum may be used to protect the bone graft and encourage bone regeneration. This is called guided bone regeneration, or guided tissue regeneration.

Sinus Lift Procedure

When the sinus wall is very thin, it is impossible to place dental implants in this bone without preparing the site. During a sinus graft, or sinus lift graft, the doctor enters the sinus where the upper teeth used to be. The sinus membrane is then lifted upward and donor bone is inserted into the floor of the sinus, or the roof of the upper jaw. The bone eventually becomes a part of the patient’s jaw and dental implants can be inserted and stabilized in this new sinus bone.

If enough bone between the upper jaw ridge and the bottom of the sinus is available to stabilize the implant, 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, then the graft will have to mature for several months, depending upon the type of graft material used. Once the graft has matured, Dr. Eklund will place the implants.

Ridge Expansion

When the jaw is not wide enough to support implants, a ridge expansion (bone graft) is placed to increase ridge height and/or width and restore lost bone dimension. During a ridge expansion, Dr. Eklund uses a special saw to split the jaw along the ridge and packs bone graft material into the newly widened space. In some situations, dental implants can be placed immediately after a ridge expansion. In more severe cases, the ridge expansion is given several months to heal prior to placing the dental implants.

Nerve Repositioning

In some instances, the inferior alveolar nerve, which gives feeling to the lower lip and chin, must be moved in order to make room for placement of dental implants to the lower jaw. During a nerve repositioning procedure, your doctor drills a small hole in the bone and moves the inferior alveolar nerve to one side. After the nerve has been repositioned, he can then place dental implants through the bony canal previously filled by the inferior alveolar nerve.  Since this procedure is considered a very aggressive approach, usually other, less aggressive options are considered first.

Each of the bone grafting procedures listed above may be performed separately or together. Bone grafting is an outpatient procedure performed in complete comfort at Southwest Oral & Implant Surgery’s sterile surgical suite. You have a choice of anesthesia options including local anesthesia, local anesthesia with nitrous (laughing gas), or intravenous (IV) sedation (twilight sleep or conscious sedation). No matter which option you choose, the trained staff at Southwest Oral & Implant Surgery will be at your side to reassure you and answer any questions you may have.

Contact Us

If you are a dentist or a physician who is interested in referring your patients to Dr. Eklund, visit the Referring Doctors section for more information. If you are a patient who would like to schedule an appointment, visit the Contact Us section for hours, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses.