Sinus Lift
What is a sinus lift?
Maxillary sinuses are air-filled sacs behind your cheeks and on the top of your upper teeth. A sinus lift is also referred to as a sinus augmentation. It is performed when there is not enough upper jaw bone or the sinuses are very close to the jaw. The procedure adds bone in the area between your jaw and maxillary sinuses, restoring it back to its normal level.
The upper back part of the jaw is one of the most difficult areas to place dental implants successfully. This is because there isn't a lot of bone in that area and the bone that is there, isn't always of high quality. Also, this region is very close to the sinus. If you've lost bone in that area due to reasons such as periodontal disease or tooth loss, you may not have enough bone to place a dental implant.
Dental implants need enough bone in order to be held in place. If there are no teeth or dental implants, the sinus has a slight pressure and expands and destroys the bone in the area. This creates a poor situation for implant placement.
If there is a lot of bone damage, implants cannot be placed. Thus, a sinus lift may be performed prior to dental implant placement if there is not enough bone.
Sinus lifts have been shown to greatly increase the chances for successful implant placement. Many patients experience minimal discomfort during this procedure.
Normal Bone Levels Low Bone Levels Sinus Lift with 3 Dental Implants
Good candidates for a sinus lift
Patients with the following are generally good candidates for a sinus lift procedure:
- More than one tooth missing from the upper back part of the jaw
- Bone loss in the upper back part of the jaw
- Missing teeth due to genetics or a birth defect
- Missing most of the upper teeth and a strong sinus floor is needed from dental implants
What to expect during the procedure
If teeth are missing from the jaw, there is no stimulation to keep the bone from dying. The area dies because there is a slightly higher pressure in the sinus and the sinus gets bigger over time.
The sinus lift procedure involves lifting the gum, making an opening in the bone, and lifting the membrane that lines the sinus and raising it to the desired level. Usually it is raised to the original size or slightly greater.
The sinus is then filled with a bone replacement. This bone acts like a matrix and encourages bone to grow in between the spaces. It is also reabsorbed and replaced with the patient’s own bone.
The bone area becomes more and more like the original with time. With time, the bone will become 100% the patient’s own bone unless we used a non-reabsorbable material.
Note that the sinus is repaired to the state it was before its expansion. We are not “filling up” the sinus, we are returning it to its original state.
Depending on your individual needs, the bone will generally need 12 months to develop before a dental implant can be placed.
After the dental implants are placed, additional healing time is required.
In some cases, the implant can be placed at the same time as the sinus lift procedure.
Risks
Like any surgery, infection, bleeding, and swelling are risks associated with a sinus lift procedure .
A major risk is that the sinus membrane could rip or be pierced. If this occurs, the area can be stitched back together or the surgery will be stopped and the area will be allowed to heal. Following healing, the sinus membrane will grow back stronger and success during the second operation will be greater.
Chronic sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses) is another risk associated with a sinus lift procedure.
