Dr. Patrick Brain
Board Certified
Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon
Lone Peak Oral Surgery & Implant Center
Tel: 801.572.0100
lonepeakoralsurgery@gmail.com
DENTAL IMPLANTS & GRAFTING
"Tooth replacement with dental implants and adjunct procedures such as bone grafting have become a major interest, especially high esthetic/cosmetic areas. I have sought mentorship from many world leaders and scientific authorities in the field of dental implant and reconstruction. Some of my experiences and travels include: advanced implant and reconstruction surgery training at the University of Bern in Switzerland, full mouth and esthetic implant reconstruction at Ilapeo Dental School in Curitiba, Brazil, soft tissue management for esthetic dental implant treatment with Professor Giovanni Zucchelli, Bologna, Italy, advanced hard and soft tissue grafting for esthetic and full arch (entire jaw) dental implant surgery at GIDE Institute, Santa Monica, California, advanced implant surgery and grafting with Dr. Michael Pikos in Florida, scientific symposia in Florida, Chicago, California, Las Vegas, and local meetings/lectures. In addition to personally seeking education and training, I have ongoing responsibilities teaching and educating locally." Dr. Patrick Brain
Think of dental implants as artificial tooth roots, similar in shape to screws. When dental implants are placed in your jawbone, they bond with your natural bone. They become a sturdy base for supporting one or more artificial teeth, called crowns.
A surgical procedure where an incision is made in your gum to gain access to the bone beneath it, and then grafting material is added. Most often, the grafting material is processed bone minerals around which your body will actually deposit new bone cells.
A sinus lift is a surgical procedure which aims to increase the amount of bone in the upper jaw, in the area of the premolar and molar teeth, by lifting the lower sinus membrane and placing a bone graft to keep the sinus in it's lifted position.
When a tooth is lost the vacant tooth socket collapses as it heals leaving a toothless area, termed a ridge. This collapse causes a loss in both height and width of the surrounding bone. When an upper molar or premolar is lost, the maxillary sinus pneumatizes in this region which further diminishes the thickness of the underlying bone. This can lead to a loss in volume of bone that is available for dental implants. The goal of the sinus lift is to graft extra bone into the sinus lifted area, so more bone is available to support a dental implant. It is also necessary to lift the sinus so the implant being placed will not pierce the sinus.
