Jaw Bone Grafting
Ridge Augmentation, Sinus Lifts Sunshine Coast
As we age and/or lose teeth, the bone in our jaw recedes away and in the case of our top jaws, the sinuses become larger (pneumatise) reducing the bone available to place dental implants.
As Specialist Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons, Dr Trent Lincoln & Dr Andrew Higgins have received specialist training in jaw bone grafting techniques used prior to dental implant placement.
Jaw bone grafting certainly sounds scarier than it usually is! Dr Lincoln & Dr Higgins are able to utilise several different types of bone grafts depending on the patient’s unique needs and this will be discussed at the time of your consultation.
Ridge Augmentation refers to bone grafting of the edentulous jaw, where there is insufficient bone for dental implant placement.
A Sinus Lift refers to elevation of the maxillary sinus lining in the top jaw, with placement of bone graft under this lining. This creates develops enough bone to enable dental implant placement.
Several sources of bone are from processed sources and autogenous grafts are the only grafts taken from the patient:
- Alloplastic (synthetic)
- E.G. Hydroxyapatite which the main mineral component of bone and is osseoconductive (acts as a scaffold for new bone to be formed by the body)
- Allogenic (from other humans)
- E.G. Bone sourced from a person that has donated their bone to a ‘bone bank’
- Bone is sterilized and proteins deactivated, however, osseoinductive agents remain which stimulate the patient’s cells to create new bone
- Xenograft (from another species)
- E.G Bone from cows that is processed to become a calcified matrix (only) which then has osseoconductive (scaffold) properties
- Autogenous (self)
- Bone grafts can be taken from a number of places on the patient’s own body if larger areas require grafting
- Sites may include: other parts of the jaw bone; the outer skull; shin bone (tibia) or hip (iliac crest)