Upper Jaw Dental Implants: Why Your Oral Surgery May Combine Different Procedures

Although there are considerable variables in dental implant surgery (no two cases are identical), most cases are routine—fairly typical, with a predictable process and outcome. A referral to an oral surgeon indicates that your circumstances may be complex. This is certainly the case when you require an implant in your upper jaw (your maxilla) and the bone lacks the required density to support the implant.

A Specialist Referral

Most dental implants are placed by general dentists—the dentist who ordinarily performs all your treatment. So what does it mean when your own dental implant surgery planning has led to a specialist referral? Why has it become necessary for an oral surgeon to perform the placement of a dental implant in your maxilla?

Minimum Bone Density

Successful placement (and the subsequent function) of a dental implant requires a minimum level of bone density. This is problematic when a tooth has been absent from its socket for an extended period of time. Pressure encountered by a tooth stimulates the underlying bone, and its natural density is maintained.

Sinus Lift

When a tooth is lost, stimulation ceases. The nutrients that maintain density around the empty dental socket are diverted elsewhere. As a result, maxilla implants may require a supplemental procedure called a sinus lift. This is the reason why an oral surgeon is performing your implant surgery.

A Single Session

Ideally, your surgeon can perform your sinus lift and place your dental implant in a single session. This specialist technique entered usage in 2015 and involves the use of a complex implant that serves multiple purposes. It will eventually integrate with your maxilla bone and retain sufficient stability to support the bite pressure of the implant's false tooth. However, prior to that, the insertion of the implant will reposition bone tissue, essentially moving it where it needs to go in order to support the implant.

Hydraulic Sinus Condensing

As the implant is placed (using a technique called hydraulic sinus condensing), it gently fractures the required bone material in its path. This occurs during the insertion of the implant, with the bone material generated by implant placement then being moved to the floor of your sinus, where it grafts with existing bone material. Your implant then heals and develops the required stability. Once this has occurred, an ultra-realistic false tooth is attached to the implant. 

Combining a sinus lift with maxilla dental implant placement means that the patient only has to undergo a single oral surgery, but the advanced nature of the hydraulic sinus condensing is why your dentist has referred you to an oral surgeon. For more information, contact a company like Conestoga Oral Surgery.

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