The Effect of Demineralized Autogenous Tooth Block Bone on Lateral Sinus Augmentation: A Retrospective Study

When placing implants in the posterior maxilla, sinus floor elevation is often required due to insufficient al-veolar bone volume. During the sinus augmentation procedure, the Schneiderian membrane is elevated, and the newly created space is filled with bone graft materials. Among various graft materials, autogenous bones are considered the most biologically suitable. However, harvesting autogenous bone can cause donor site morbidity and postoperative discomfort. Block-type autogenous tooth bone graft material is derived from a patient’s own extracted teeth. It offers the biological stability of traditional autogenous bone while minimizing the disadvantages such as donor site risks and postoperative discomfort. Due to these advantages, block-type autogenous tooth grafts have been widely studied. In this study, we observed the outcomes of maxillary sinus augmentation using block-type autogenous tooth bone grafts in 18 patients treated at Daegu Catholic University Dental Hospital between April 2017 and Octo-ber 2022. The extracted teeth were processed by forming micro-holes and demineralizing them in 0.6N HCl for 30 minutes to create the graft material. A lateral bony window was created using a piezoelectric surgical de-vice, and the sinus membrane was elevated. Implants and the block-type tooth grafts were placed in the creat-ed space, and the lateral window was repositioned to complete the procedure. Postoperative clinical evaluation and radiographic analysis were conducted to assess the amount of sinus membrane elevation, gain in alveolar bone height, and osseointegration of the implants. The results demon-strated that the alveolar bone height increased in proportion to the size of the block-type graft and showed long-term stability. Even in cases of sinus membrane perforation, no postoperative complications or implant failures were observed. This study suggests that maxillary sinus augmentation using block-type autogenous tooth bone grafts pro-vides excellent osteoinductive potential and biocompatibility, making it a highly favorable option for both clinicians and patients.