Bone and Sinus Augmentation

Sinus Lift

A sinus lift prepares the area for the insertion of dental implants. This is positive news for patients who have previously been told they are not a good candidate for dental implants due to lack of bone height.

A sinus lift is a bone grafting procedure that can create the preferred five-millimetre bone needed to place a dental implant. This is achieved by moving the sinus membrane upward and fitting additional bone between the upper jaw and maxillary sinuses.

The sinus lift procedure provides more bone for patients whose teeth have been missing for long periods of time and the bone has resorbed as a result.

Dr Giddani’s  preferred choice of procedure is the crestal approach sinus lift, to minimise risk by providing a non-traumatic crestal approach to sinus elevation for patients. This is possible even if the sinus floor is flat, inclined or has a septum.

Patients planning to undergo the Sinus Lift procedure will undergo a clinical and radiographic assessment to study their jaw and sinus anatomy.  You may need a CT (CBCT) scan. This allows the measurement of the current bone, as well as to assess of the overall health of the sinus.

Bone Augmentation

Candidates for bone augmentation, a process of rebuilding the bone, are patients with an insufficient natural, healthy bone to support dental implants.

The goal is to provide a solid structure where implants can be placed and secured in the alveolar bone structure. The augmentation is most commonly done by a bone graft, which is placing bone graft material to the existing bone in your jaw.

Patients planning to undergo bone augmentation procedures will undergo a clinical and radiographic assessment to study their jaw and bone.

Modern bone grafting is generally a painless, minimally invasive procedure completed in the practice. Once the procedure has been completed, the graft material is left for 3-6 months to heal. Once full healed then a dental implant can be placed. But this is depending on the extent of the graft and the condition of the existing bone.

Where does the bone come from for bone augmentation?

There are several options for bone grafting material:

• An autograft is where the bone is taken from the person who is having the procedure. The material used for dental bone augmentation can be a section of bone obtained from elsewhere on your body. This is usually the ramus of the mandible.
• Bone harvested from another human or cadaver called allograft.
• A xenograft is usually taken from animals, such as cows.
• A graft is a synthetic bone graft developed in a laboratory.
• Bone is carefully processed to ensure no bacteria or diseases are passed on to the person receiving the bone graft.

All options will be fully discussed at the treatment planning stage.

Advanced Dentistry Referral Service

We are now offering an Advanced Dentistry Referral Service from dental colleagues or from patients themselves for complex dental implant cases. We have the latest CBCT imaging scanner to enable advanced diagnosis for complex procedures and patient care.  At Larkham House we aim to see patients within 7 days of receiving the referral. Please contact us for further details.