In cases of reduced height & width of the bone to which the dental implant is to be placed, there are many alternatives that can be used.
The best method is the use of advanced implants called as basal or cortical implants, which are different from that of regular or traditional implants. With the use of cortical implants we can avoid using complicated procedures like sinus lift technique, avoid use of bone grafts & expensive barrier membranes in an attempt to build a good height & width of bone. The advantage of these implants are that the patients can receive their fixed teeth in 3 to 5 days.
An alternative to the cortical implants is use of slimline implants which are of reduced dimensions requiring minimal requirement of bone dimensions for their placements.
Another good option is use of Short implants, which can be used in cases of minimal height of bone too.
If the above options are not available in a particular clinical setting the traditional & the longer methods are –
- The use of bone grafts that can be employed to increase the height & width of the bone in the first stage (the waiting period might be as long as 6 to 9 months).
- In the back tooth region of upper jaw, the sinus can be repositioned
- In the lower jaw the major nerve bundles can be repositioned.
Both these procedures can be followed by the addition of the bone grafts to increase the height & width of the supporting bone. Some of these are quite complicated procedures & invasive too.
The overall time needed to place implants & give crowns in such cases can be between 6 months or 1 year or more.
Our opinion & experience shows that the direct method of using cortical/basal implants, which has no waiting period like the other types of implants mentioned above are the best as one gets fixed teeth in 3 to 5 days’ time.
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