When not enough bone is present for a dental implant, bone condensing may be necessary. This is achieved through what is known as an osteotome or an osteotome mallet. What is an osteotome? It’s a surgical instrument that can be used in multiple ways to manipulate the bone to better suit a dental implant.
During an osteotomes dental implant, a surgeon will utilize an osteotome mallet — one of several wedge-shaped instruments that have different size tapers — to cut, compress, or deform the bone to help facilitate implantation of screws or other hardware. An osteotome sinus lift can be used to help patients regenerate their own bone tissue before an implant. This procedure is generally considered safe and produces predictable results, where the atrophic maxilla generates more bone volume that will better anchor an implant in the future.
When bone condensing and other osteotome procedures are needed, implant placement is typically delayed until enough bone volume is achieved to stabilize an implant.