Bone Widening Graft of Lower Back Jaw – Picture Series – Dr. Ramsey Amin

This is a great example of a procedure that I do VERY routinely in my office in Burbank, California.

You can learn more about the process here: (Bone expansion of the lower jaw) Bone Widening/Expansion

This man would like to have implants in the back of his lower jaw, but his bone is far too skinny.

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Here is a close up of the narrow bone area that he wants dental implants.

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The x-ray shows that the bone is tall enough, but the pictures show that he does not have enough bone width.

In severe cases, the “ridge;” where the teeth were, has been lost and a bone graft is placed to increase ridge height and/or width. This is a technique used to restore the lost bone dimension when the jaw ridge gets too thin to place conventional implants. In this procedure, the bony ridge of the jaw is literally expanded by mechanical means.

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CT scan work up done on my laptop.

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This picture shows how wide his jawbone is after I rebuilt the bone back.  Now it is very wide, so placing implants can now be done in ideal locations. Wow!

Different types of bone are available for this graft …”learn where I get the bone.”

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Here are some of the actual implants that I use before insertion.  Neat!

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This picture is at one week of healing.  The patient said he had “no pain at all!”  The stitches still show because they take about 10 days to dissolve.

This bone expansion is sometimes done as a separate procedure or it may be done at the same time the implants are placed. If it is done in two stages, usually only 3-4 weeks of bone healing is all that is necessary. The implants will be placed at either the first or second stage.

The bone graft may have to heal for a 12 weeks before attaching the teeth to the dental implants.

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X-ray of the dental implants before the teeth are made.

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Close up of the widened bone for dental implants using a bone graft.

dental implants, ramsey amin burbank

Remember how skinny the jawbone was originally!!

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The lower back part of the jaw is one of the most difficult areas to widen the bone. This technique is not used by many dentists.  It makes the treatment much less painful and very cost effective.  This method is more affordable than block onlay bone grafting which I do also but use in the front of the mouth.

This procedure not only “grows” bone, but it also grows gums too!

Ramsey A. Amin, D.D.S.
Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology /Implant Dentistry
Burbank, California
https://www.burbankdentalimplants.com

6 thoughts on “Bone Widening Graft of Lower Back Jaw – Picture Series – Dr. Ramsey Amin”

  1. Hello Dr Amin
    Are you trained in or familiar with the new SMART bone grafting method and if so, do you feel it’s better than the traditional bone grafting technique?
    Regards
    Ben

    Reply
    • I am very familiar with the technique. It is a modification of a tunnel graft. I think to a lot of dentists the allure is that it may be easy for them to do. I would suggest you see a dental implant specialist with at least 15-20 years of experience. Remember that it is not the actual procedure type that makes success… It is the experience with that procedure

      I have attached a link for you for an article about tunneling that I wrote almost 10 years ago

      Reply
  2. How much does it cost for this procedure. I have the same problem my bone is thin to put implants. And it makes my face smaller on that side.

    Reply
    • Cost is variable depending on each situation. you would need to be seen for examination, photographs, 3-D assessment, diagnosis and treatment plan to see if you’re even a candidate for this. It takes a particular bone shape for this to work.

      Reply

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