Transplantation of a preosseointegrated implant from the mental area to a maxillary sinus graft.

When maxillary sinus grafting is performed to allow placement of fixed restoration in edentulous posterior sites, standard procedures involve placement of the sinus graft and then, after a graft-maturing time, placement of implants, which must osseointegrate before they can be used to support a restoration. Transplantation of a preosseointegrated implant from the mental area to the graft site may be preferable to standard two-step procedures. Advantages of the transplant procedure include reduction in total treatment time, a more predictable therapeutic outcome, and, it appears, improved bone quality, configuration, and retention around the implant.