Bone Grafting in Wuppertal

A bone graft is a dental procedure in which missing or insufficient jawbone is built up. It can be necessary when an implant is planned but there is not enough stable bone to hold it.

An implant needs enough stable bone so that it can integrate firmly and later carry the restoration. If the bone is too narrow or too low, a graft may be needed. Mehr dazu: Wann braucht man einen Knochenaufbau?

No. Many implants can be planned without a graft. Whether one is needed depends on bone height, bone width, the implant position and the restoration planned. We establish that by examination and imaging.

From the outside it usually cannot be judged reliably. What decides it is the examination, X-rays and, where needed, a 3D scan. Only then can it be assessed whether there is enough bone for an implant.

A sinus lift is a bone graft at the back of the upper jaw. It can be necessary when the sinus sits very close to where the implant is planned and there is not enough bone height.

The procedure is as a rule carried out under local anaesthetic, and during it you should not feel pain. Afterwards there can be swelling, a feeling of pressure or discomfort around the wound, depending on how extensive the graft was. Mehr dazu: Is bone grafting painful?

The healing time depends on how extensive the graft was, on the area and on your individual healing. The bone often needs several months before an implant can be planned or loaded with confidence. To keep the stages clear: those months are for the graft. Once the implant itself is placed, it is usually left to integrate for six to twelve weeks before it is uncovered, and the full route to the final crown normally takes another three to six months. Mehr dazu: Wie lange heilt ein Knochenaufbau?

In some cases yes. Where only a small graft is needed and the implant sits stably enough, the two can be combined. With larger defects the bone is often built up first and the implant placed later.

The cost depends on how much has to be built up, the method, the material, the imaging and the implant planning that follows. Two figures we can state in advance: the first consultation is free of charge, and a 3D scan (CBCT) with its report costs **€178**. For the graft itself, prices in Germany are generally quoted somewhere between about €500 for a small local graft and €2,500 for an extensive one such as a sinus lift — that is a general market range, not our practice’s prices. Your own figure follows from the findings and is binding only in your written treatment and cost plan (Heil- und Kostenplan), which you receive before treatment begins. Mehr dazu: Kosten Knochenaufbau vor Implantaten: Wann er nötig ist und was er kostet.

For patients with statutory insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, GKV), grafting in connection with implants is as a rule not covered: it is a private service. There is one route by which the fund can take on implant treatment including the necessary grafting, and it is narrow. German law recognises exactly four exceptional indications (Ausnahmeindikationen): major defects of the jaw or face — after surgery for tumours, after inflammation of the jaw, after large cysts or bone disorders, with congenital clefts or ectodermal dysplasia, or after an accident; persistent extreme dryness of the mouth; generalised genetically caused absence of teeth; and muscular dysfunctions that cannot be controlled. Shrinkage of the jawbone on its own is **not** one of them, however pronounced it is — that is the point most patients are surprised by. Where an exceptional indication may apply, the fund appoints an assessor and has to decide within six weeks. For the restoration on top of the implant, a fixed subsidy (Festzuschuss) based on the findings is possible regardless. We settle all of this with you before anything starts. Mehr dazu: Krankenkasse und Knochenaufbau: Was zahlt die GKV wirklich?

Yes, if there is enough stable bone or a different implant position can sensibly be planned. Sometimes there are alternatives; sometimes a graft is simply the safer foundation. It depends on the findings. Mehr dazu: Kann man Implantate ohne Knochenaufbau setzen?

An implant without a sufficient bone foundation may not sit stably, may integrate poorly or may cause trouble later. That is why we assess the bone carefully before placement and plan on what is there, not on what we would like to be there.