Sinus Lift Surgery or Sinus Lift treatment

Sinus lift surgery is done when there is not enough bone in the upper jaw for the placement of dental implants. This is more common in people who have lost their upper back teeth. It could be due to several reasons

1. The shape of the skull is such that the back of the upper jaw has less bone than in lower jaw.

2. When the teeth have been lost for a long period , the bone that had been around the natural teeth begins to get re absorbed by the body, thus leaving insufficient bone for placement of implants.

3. The maxillary sinus in some people may be very large.The sinus lining is too close to the jaw making it difficult to place implants.

4. The bone may have been lost due to gum disease.

Sinus lift is done on dental chair under local anaesthesia . An incision is placed inside the mouth on gums . The tissue is then raised to expose the underlying bone. A small oval window is opened in the bone to expose the sinus membrane. The surgeon then gently lifts and pushes the sinus lining away from the jaw bone. The bone graft material is then packed in the space created between the sinus membrane and the jaw bone. The amount of bone graft material to be packed depends upon the situation in a particular case.

Once the bone graft is packed inside , the tissues are sutured back . It requires 4 to 6 months time for the grafted material to blend with the natural jaw bone . When the bone graft gets integrated with the jaw bone the implants can be placed in the jaw.

Swelling of the face on the side of sinus lift. The swelling subsides within 4-6 days. A drop or two of blood from the nose on the first day Mild discomfort that is controlled by prescribed pain-killers.

1. The sinus membrane may get punctured or torn during the procedure. In such a case, the surgeon may stitch the torn or patch it up. If the repair is not successful, the surgeon may have to stop the procedure and close the tissues to allow the membrane time to heal.

Once the membrane is healed in few months time , the surgeon may re-do the procedure.

2. In rare cases the bone Graft material added may not integrate with the natural bone. The grafted area does not develop the blood supply. In this case the implants placed in this area would fail as there is no living bone for implants to attach to.