Contributors / Country -institution

Assist. Prof. S. Silvestros / Univ. of Athens School of Dentistry.

Dr. G. Vilos / Diplomate American Board Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.

Open maxillary sinus floor elevation

Details

Hands-on course

Course capacity: Up to 20 participants.

Duration: 4 hours

Cost: 170 euros

Course description:         

1) Theoretical background of open maxillary sinus floor elevation: Indications, surgical anatomy, armamentarium, surgical technique, choice of bone graft material, simultaneous vs. delayed dental implant placement, contraindications, complications and their management (approx. 1 hour).

2) Hands-on practice on plastic models using diamond burs on straight surgical handpieces, sinus lift curettes, xenogeneic bone graft material; and absorbable collagen barrier membranes (approx. 1 hour).

3) Hands-on practice on adult sheep heads (one maxilla per participant) using conventional straight handpieces and / or piezosurgical equipment (approx. 2 hours).

Dental implant placement in the edentulous posterior maxilla is often restricted by inadequate residual alveolar crest dimensions in height and width, as well as by inferior bone quality. Inadequate bone height and width may be the result of enlargement of the maxillary sinus (pneumatization) and bone loss due to post-extraction resorption, periodontitis, endosseous abscesses, trauma, or tumor extirpation. To facilitate dental implant placement in such problematic cases, maxillary sinus floor elevation is indicated. During this procedure, the Schneiderian membrane is meticulously dissected and elevated and a new sinus floor is created at a more cranial level. The created space is then filled with an appropriate bone graft material. As a consequence, bone height is increased and implant installation becomes feasible, even in cases of minimal initial bone. Several surgical techniques for sinus augmentation have been proposed. Various types of bone grafts have been successfully used, such as autografts, allografts, xenografts, alloplastic materials or combinations in various ratios.