The sinus lift is a surgical procedure, which can increase the amount bone tissue of the upper jaw, above the molars and premolars.
The maxillary sinuses are behind your cheeks and on top of the upper teeth, resembling rooms that have nothing in them. Some of the roots of the natural upper teeth extend up into these sinuses. When the upper teeth are removed, there is often a thin wall of bone separating the maxillary sinus and the mouth. Dental implants need adequate bone to hold them in place, yet when the sinus wall is very thin, it is impossible to place and secure the implants.
To address this problem, our dentist enters the sinus from where the upper teeth once were. The sinus membrane is then lifted upward, and donor bone is inserted into the floor of the sinus. After healing, the bone becomes part of your jaw and dental implants can be inserted and stabilized.
If enough bone between the upper jaw ridge and the bottom of the sinus is available to stabilize the implant well, a sinus lift and implant placement can sometimes be performed as a single procedure. If that is not the case, the sinus lift must be performed first and the bone will have to mature for several months, depending upon the type of material used. Once the graft has matured, the implants can be placed.
To learn more about our bone graft procedures in Brick, NJ, please contact us at Cambridge Dental Group today to schedule a consultation.
