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| Sinus Lift Information |
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A maxillary sinus floor augmentation procedure (sometimes known informally as a sinus-lift or sinus procedure) is a surgical procedure to increase the amount of bone in upper jaw bone.
While there may be a number of reasons for wanting a greater volume of bone in the posterior maxilla, the most common reason in contemporary dental treatment planning is to prepare the site for the future placement of dental implants |
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Sinus lift procedure
The maxillary sinuses are behind your cheeks and on top of the upper teeth. Sinuses are like empty rooms that have nothing in them. Some of the roots of the natural upper teeth in the molar region extend up into the maxillary sinuses. When these upper teeth are removed, there is often just a thin wall of bone separating the maxillary sinus and the mouth. Dental implants need bone to hold them in place. When the sinus wall is very thin, it is impossible to place dental implants in this bone.
Today there is a solution and it’s called a sinus graft or “sinus lift”. The dental implant surgeon enters the sinus from where the upper teeth used to be. The sinus membrane is then lifted upward allowing donor bone and/or artificial bone to be inserted into the floor of the sinus. Keep in mind that the floor of the sinus is the roof of the upper jaw. After 6-9 months of healing, the bone becomes part of the patient’s jaw and dental implants can be inserted and stabilized in this new sinus bone.
The sinus graft makes it possible for many patients to have dental implants when years ago there was no other option than wearing partial or full dentures.
If enough bone between the upper jaw ridge and the bottom of the sinus is available to stabilize the implant initially (5mm), sinus augmentations and implant placement can sometimes be performed as a single procedure (at the same time). If not enough bone is available, the Sinus Augmentation will have to be performed first, then the graft will have to mature for 6-9 months, depending upon the type of graft material used. Once the graft has matured, the implants can be placed as a second surgical procedure.
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