For you to experience a successful implant procedure, the quality and quantity of your jawbone where your implant will be placed have to meet specific standards before the implant surgery takes place. Therefore, your dentist has to check this and recommend a pre-surgery if you cannot receive dental implants.

The upper jawbone is always one of the areas requiring attention, as it is one of the problematic areas where dental implants can be placed successfully. Sadly, many people have insufficient upper jawbone tissue, which is close to your sinus cavity. So, to prepare your bone for a successful implant procedure, your Robbinsville dentist has to perform a sinus lift.

Keep reading to understand the procedure further and some o the risks involved.

What is Sinus Lift?

A sinus lift, also termed sinus augmentation or a maxillary sinus floor augmentation, is a procedure that makes it safer and easier to place dental implants. Like a bone graft, this procedure aims to provide a strong, solid platform where dental implants can be placed.

To make room for more jawbone, the sinus membrane on your oral cavity has to be lifted. It is then filled with bone powder to integrate into your surrounding tissues.

Reasons Why You May Need a Sinus Lift

A sinus lift at Robbinsville is an excellent pre-surgery option for patients who want to undergo a dental implant surgery but still may be experiencing the following issues:

  • Tooth loss has caused bone loss as well
  • Loss of bone due to a gum disease
  • The sinus cavity is too close to your upper jaw and might interfere with your dental implants.
  • Congenital birth defects or any other conditions that may lead to loss of your bone structure.
  • Loss of your upper back molars. This is an area that naturally has less jawbone.

The only way to determine if you might require a sinus lift before your dental implant procedure is by visiting your oral surgeon in Robbinsville. They will thoroughly examine your mouth by using x-rays to see the quality of your jawbone and how close it is to the sinus cavities.

How is Sinus Lift Performed?

If your dentist at Mercer Smiles Family Dentistry decides that you are getting a sinus lift surgery, they have to determine where they will obtain the extra bone. The three most common bones used in sinus lift surgery include:

  • Allogenic bone. A bone from a cadaver
  • Autogenous bone. This is bone from your own body. The bone will be removed from other parts of your mouth or body.
  • A bone from a cow

Your dentist will then take x-rays to study your sinuses and jaw to determine precisely what they need or will do.

Once the extra bone needed source has been determined, and a CBCT scan and extensive x-rays were done, your dentist will begin the procedure. First, they will cut through your gum tissue to expose the jawbone. Next, they will bore a small circle in your bone, raise it into a sinus cavity space, and fill up the space with a bone graft.

After which, your dentist will close the incision, and the healing process will begin.

What are the Risks of a Sinus Lift Procedure?

As with any oral surgery procedure, some risks are associated with a sinus lift procedure. The main risk is tearing or puncturing the sinus membrane. There is no need to worry if this happens, as your surgeon will either stitch the tear or place a patch over the punctured area. If repairing the sinus membrane is more complicated, your oral surgeon might stop the procedure and give you some time to heal first.

Infection, which is a risk like any other oral surgical procedure, is uncommon in sinus lifts. However, in rare cases, the existing bone might fail to integrate with the bone graft material, thus meaning that the graft site cannot develop a blood supply.

There is also a risk of acute maxillary sinusitis after a sinus lift procedure, which presents an inflammation of the membranes in your sinuses and nose. It makes it hard to drain mucus from your nose. However, studies show that caution taken throughout the treatment might help to keep the sinuses open.