A dental bone graft adds bone to the jaw where it is too thin or short to hold an implant, and a sinus lift is the version used under the upper back teeth. At Safari Dentistry and Implants in Huntington Beach, both dental bone graft and sinus lift procedures are performed in-house by a board-certified periodontist, the specialist trained in the bone and gum around teeth, so they can be combined with an extraction or the implant itself.
What is a dental bone graft?
A dental bone graft places bone material into the jaw so that new bone grows and creates a solid base for an implant. The material is most often processed donor bone or a synthetic mineral, covered by a membrane; your own bone is used only in larger rebuilds. Healing takes 3 to 6 months before an implant can be placed, or the graft is done at the same time as the implant when only a little bone is missing.
Types of bone grafts used at Safari
- Socket preservation: graft placed in the socket immediately after an extraction, so the ridge does not collapse. The most common and the least invasive.
- Ridge augmentation: rebuilds width or height on a ridge that shrank after teeth were lost years ago.
- Sinus lift: adds bone under the sinus floor for upper molar and premolar implants.
- Periodontal regeneration: graft around a natural tooth to rebuild bone lost to gum disease. See periodontal treatment.
What is a sinus lift and when is it needed?
A sinus lift raises the floor of the maxillary sinus and fills the space beneath it with bone graft, creating enough height for implants in the upper back jaw. It is needed when the CT scan shows less than about 5 millimeters of bone between the ridge and the sinus, which is common after upper molars have been missing for a while.
There are two techniques. A lateral window lift, done through a small opening in the side of the jaw, is used for larger gains and heals for 6 to 9 months before the implant. A crestal lift, done through the implant site itself, adds a few millimeters and can be combined with implant placement the same day.
Does a bone graft hurt and how long is recovery?
The procedure is done with local anesthetic, with oral sedation available, and most patients describe the recovery as mild swelling and soreness for 3 to 5 days controlled with ibuprofen. You should avoid blowing your nose forcefully for two weeks after a sinus lift, and eat soft foods for about a week after any graft.
- Visit length
- 30 to 90 minutes depending on the graft
- Back to work
- Next day for most socket grafts; 2 to 3 days for a lateral sinus lift
- Stitches
- Dissolve on their own or are removed at the 2-week check
- Healing before implant
- 0 months (same day) to 9 months depending on the graft size
- Success rate
- Above 90 percent for sinus lifts and socket grafts in non-smokers
What does a bone graft or sinus lift cost in Huntington Beach?
Grafting is quoted as its own line item on the written implant plan after the CT scan, because the price depends on the type of graft, the amount of material and whether it is combined with an extraction or implant. Many PPO plans cover part of a graft done with an extraction, and Safari offers monthly payment plans on the balance.
How grafting fits into your implant timeline
- CT scan. Bone height and width are measured to the millimeter; the periodontist shows you where bone is missing.
- Graft, with extraction or on its own. Same office, same specialist.
- Healing. 0 to 9 months depending on the graft. A temporary tooth or denture is provided for visible gaps.
- Implant placement. See the dental implants page for the rest of the process.
Bone grafting for patients from Westminster, Fountain Valley and Garden Grove
Grafting and implants happen at one address, 16511 Goldenwest St, Unit 101, which matters when a graft and implant are staged months apart: the same periodontist reads the follow-up scan and places the implant.