Bone Building / Sinus lift

The reasons for less bone are various. Normally the problem is in the upper jaw where we have the sinus. The sinuses become bigger as we grow older and could in toothless areas eventually end in just a few millimeters bone-layer between oral cavity and sinus. The most common procedure is called sinus lift. However, when you pull out a tooth the bone is more or less withdrawn and could be too thin for an implant after the final healing. In the under jaw we sometime see problem with the width of the bone or/and the amount of bone down to a significant nerve. 

When building bone we use a biocompatible material called Bio-Oss. This is neutralized bone which the body accepts. During healing Bio-Oss helps the own bone to be rebuilt into a size we need for implant treatment.

The sinus lift procedure could be simplified explained as a bone window, cut and opened from the oral cavity into the sinus. The sinus is still closed because of the soft tissue along the sinus walls. The soft tissue is moveable which enable us to use it as a tent. The tent is filled with Bio-Oss and then we close the window. At least 6 months of healing awaits and after a successful healing an implant can be installed. After a normal tooth extraction we sometime recommend a direct bone building procedure to enable a better implant treatment later on.

With X-ray we can evaluate the need of bone building in most cases before treatment. Still, some factors can just be seen when the bone is physically revealed before an implant installation. If we find unsatisfactory bone amount we choose a bone building procedure in combination with implant installation or only a bone building procedure. After a good healing period we can put in the implant.