Sinus Lift / Sinus Augmentation

Many people are getting dental implants, making Sinus Lifts an increasingly standard procedure over the last 15 years. 

A Sinus Lift is a treatment approach you need when you desire dental implants to replace the upper back teeth, or molars, but do not have enough jaw bone   height to support them. Other names for this procedure are sinus augmentation and sinus graft.

Do you require a Sinus Lift surgery & have some questions? We have got you covered. Read on to learn more about Sinus lift and how this routine periodontal procedure can help secure dental implants.

What is a Sinus Lift?

When a dental implant is placed, it must be fully surrounded by good bone support.  This means the patient must have enough bone width & enough bone height. Some people need a dental implant, but because of bone loss or downward movement of the sinus space with gravity after tooth loss, they don’t have enough bone height to support an implant.  A sinus lift is a procedure that moves the lining of the sinus space vertically, to gain back the bone height that a patient has lost.

A good analogy is to think of the Maxillary Sinus as an air-filled space, like a balloon.  It sits behind the cheekbones and above the tooth roots on the upper jaw, in the back.  When the sinus has fallen (after tooth loss, or sometimes patients just naturally have low sinuses), it doesn’t leave enough height for a dental implant. 

A sinus lift is performed where the sinus membrane (like the rubber part of a balloon) is gently lifted in the spot where the implant is going to go, which just slightly changes the shape of the sinus, and a bone graft is placed to achieve more height.

There are 2 types of sinus lifts:

1. INDIRECT (LOCALIZED) SINUS LIFT:  In cases where the bone loss is more mild, we can do the sinus lift at the same time as placing the implant.  There is no additional wound or drilling; it all happens through the exact same pilot hole the implant is placed in, so the patient usually doesn’t even know it happened.
2. DIRECT (LATERAL WINDOW) SINUS LIFT: In cases of more advanced bone loss, where there isn’t enough strong bone present already to firmly grip the implant, the sinus lift is done as a separate procedure, before the implant is placed.

Your periodontist will take a 3D X-ray of your jawbone to help determine if you are a candidate for a dental implant, and — if a sinus lift is needed, — whether or not it will be Indirect (at the same time as the implant), or Direct (performed separately from the implant placement). 

Only a dentist specially trained in sinus augmentation procedures & specialized bone grafting techniques performs this procedure.  Your implant surgeon at Periodontal Specialists is Board Certified in Periodontics & Implant Dentistry, and has received extensive training on sinus lift procedures.

How is a Sinus Lift Surgery Done?

It is always good to go over what you can expect during surgery to be fully prepared and confident as you go into the Sinus Lift.   The general sequence of events taking place during a Sinus Lift procedure is outlined below:

1. The area will be numbed with a numbing jelly followed by a local anesthetic, ensuring you are completely comfortable during the procedure. 
2. Your periodontist will make a small incision to gently open the gum tissue.

1. Next, they will gain access to the lining of the sinus through either a pilot hole made for the implant, or — if an implant is not being placed until later — by creating a small window in the bone to gain access to the sinus membrane.
2. Your periodontist gently elevates the sinus membrane, lifting it to create a space to add a bone graft. 
3. If the implant is being placed at the same time, it is then placed after the bone graft.
4. Finally, the surgeon closes the incision with very small stitches.  Oftentimes dissolvable stitches.

The healing process begins.  It is usually uneventful & pleasantly surprising for patients.