Surgical solutions to prosthetic problems

Placement of implants in the dental alveolus crest of the mandible and maxilla is limited by the height of bone between the alveolar crest and the maxillary sinus, floor of the nose, and the inferior alveolar canal. This paper discusses three surgical grafting procedures--the sinus lift and graft, the split cortical (or sandwich) graft, and the onlay graft--these add additional bone to the anterior and posterior maxilla, and also the procedure to reposition and protect the neurovascular bundle so that endosseous implants may be placed.