Techniques for lifting the maxillary sinus, with grafting of the floor of the sinus, can create sufficient quantity and quality of bone for dental implant placement. A study by Butz and Huys involving 20 patients with follow-up as long as 7 years assessed the effectiveness, reliability, and predictability of the synthetic allograft material Bioplant HTR (Kerr). The study involved a total of 22 sites and 56 implants, and the patients were treated with sinus augmentation using a mixture of 80% Bioplant HTR and 20% autogenous bone in 21 sites, and 100% Bioplant HTR in 1 site. All grafting material was fully wetted with marrow blood from the osteotomy site. Of the total sites, 17 received immediate placement of a total of 48 implants; 5 sites received a total of 8 implants 5 to 6 months after the sinus lift procedure; and 3 cases required a supplementary onlay graft to widen the narrow alveolar ridge. After follow-up clinical and radiographic observation, the study found that Bioplant HTR proved to be an excellent graft material. The authors state that this grafting material provided patients with the benefits of implant-supported restorations in a simple, quick, cost-effective, and secure manner. They state that the advantages of this synthetic graft material seem to far outweigh the use of autogenous, cadaver, or bovine bone for sinus lift procedures.
(Source: Implant Dentistry, Vol. 14, No. 1, 2005)
