Introduction
For the insertion of an implant, the jawbone must have an appropriate width and depth to ensure a firm hold for the implant. Unfortunately, this is not the case with all patients. Due to early loss of teeth, partial dentures worn for a longer period of time or periodontitis, the bone in these patients is reduced to such an extent that implantation is not possible. Also in the maxillary sinus there is often very little bone available in the upper jaw to place an implant. In both cases, however, a jaw bone augmentation can create the conditions for implantation.
The upper jaw
Colloquially, only the upper row of teeth is often referred to as the upper jaw, but actually the upper jaw is the largest bone of the midface. With its upper edge it limits the eye sockets, forms at the lower edge the admission for the upper tooth row and in the center the outside wall of the nasal cavity. Reaching into the inside of the skull, it also forms a part of the bony palate.
Parts of the upper jaw are hollow, lined with mucous membrane and are connected to the nasal cavity. Therefore, these hollow spaces are also called paranasal sinuses – or here maxillary sinuses. They serve to warm and humidify the air we breathe.
Further nasal sinuses exist, for example, in the frontal bone. If the mucous membranes of the paranasal sinuses swell up during a cold, the openings to the nasal cavity can become blocked, which greatly restricts the flow of mucus. This makes sinusitis painful and sometimes quite persistent.
At the lower edge, the upper jaw is notched to accommodate the periodontium of the upper teeth. Tooth roots and maxillary sinuses sometimes come quite close to each other, it can even happen that tooth roots grow into the maxillary sinus, where they are then only covered by mucous membrane. Therefore, it can happen that an inflammation of the tooth root continues into the maxillary sinus or that a sinusitis becomes noticeable with toothache.
