Bone Grafting

When there isn’t enough high-quality bone to support an implant, bone grafting helps rebuild the necessary structure. At Desert Maxillofacial, we offer both major and minor bone grafting procedures tailored to your specific needs.

• Sources of Bone
  • Autografts: Bone harvested from your own body (jaw, hip, or tibia).
  • Allografts: Bone obtained from a tissue bank, prepared from cadaver sources to safely stimulate new bone growth.
  • Synthetic Materials & Growth Factors: Often combined with your own blood factors to accelerate bone regeneration.
• Guided Bone Regeneration
  Special dissolvable membranes are used under the gum to protect the graft site and encourage proper bone growth.

Major bone grafts typically address defects from traumatic injuries, tumor surgeries, or congenital anomalies. These procedures are performed in an operating room and may require a hospital stay.

For patients with insufficient bone in the posterior upper jaw due to a thin sinus floor, a sinus lift (or sinus graft) is an effective solution.

• Procedure Overview
  • The dental implant surgeon accesses the sinus through the area where the upper teeth once were.
  • The sinus membrane is carefully lifted upward, and donor bone is placed in the sinus floor.
  • Over time, the grafted bone integrates with your natural bone, creating a stable foundation for dental implants.
• Benefits
  • Restores bone height in the upper jaw, enabling the placement of implants.
  • Often transforms patients who previously had no other option than wearing dentures.

Depending on the existing bone volume, sinus augmentation and implant placement may be performed simultaneously or in separate procedures.

For more details on our Dental Implants services, please visit that page.

When the jaw ridge has reabsorbed to a point where it is too thin for conventional implants, a ridge expansion procedure may be recommended.

• Procedure Details
  • The bony ridge is mechanically expanded to increase its height and/or width.
  • Bone graft material is then placed in the expanded area and allowed to mature before implant placement.
• Outcome
  Restores sufficient bone dimension to securely support dental implants, improving both function and appearance.

In some cases, the inferior alveolar nerve in the lower jaw may interfere with implant placement. Nerve repositioning is an a dvanced procedure used to safely relocate this nerve bundle.

• Procedure Overview
  • An incision on the outer cheek side of the lower jaw exposes the nerve and vessel canal.
  • The nerve is carefully isolated and gently repositioned to create space for implant placement.
  • Bone graft material is used to secure the nerve and promote healing.
• Considerations
  • This aggressive approach is typically reserved for cases where alternative methods (such as blade implants) are not feasible.
  • Some postoperative numbness in the lower lip and chin may occur, though this usually improves over time.