Sinus Lifts

Why Do I Need a Sinus Lift?

The maxillary sinuses are air-filled cavities located behind your cheeks and directly above your upper teeth. In a healthy jaw, the roots of your upper teeth are anchored in thick bone. However, several factors can compromise this structure:

• Natural Anatomy: Some individuals simply have larger sinuses or thinner jawbones.
• Tooth Loss: When upper teeth are lost, the body naturally begins to resorb (reabsorb) the bone that once held them, leading to a thin wall between the mouth and the sinus.
• Periodontal Disease: Chronic gum disease can destroy the bone tissue necessary for dental health.

Because dental implants require a specific depth and density of bone to remain secure, placing an implant into a thin sinus wall is often impossible without intervention.

How Sinus Augmentation Works

The goal of a sinus lift is to “lift” the sinus floor to make room for new bone growth. During the procedure, оur skilled oral surgeon gently moves the sinus membrane upward and fills the space with bone grafting material.

Over several months, this material integrates with your natural bone, creating a sturdy “ledge” that can support the pressure of a dental implant. This procedure is one of the most common and successful bone grafting techniques used in modern restorative dentistry.

Am I a candidate for a sinus lift procedure?

A sinus lift may be necessary if you:

• are missing more than one tooth in the back of your jaw
• are missing a significant amount of bone in the back of your jaw
• are missing teeth due to a birth defect or condition
• are missing most of the maxillary teeth and require support for dental implants

How is a sinus lift accomplished?

Most commonly, a small incision is made on the premolar or molar region to expose the jaw bone. A small opening is cut into the bone, and the membrane lining the sinus is pushed upward. The underlying space is filled with bone grafting material, either from your own body or from a other sources. Sometimes, synthetic materials that imitate bone formation are used. After the bone is implanted, the incision is sutured and the healing process begins. After several months of healing, the bone becomes part of the patient’s jaw and dental implants can be inserted and stabilized in the newly formed sinus bone.

If enough bone between the upper jaw ridge and the bottom of the sinus is available to sufficiently stabilize the implant, sinus augmentations and implant placement can sometimes be performed as a single procedure. If not enough bone is available, the sinus augmentation will have to be performed first, then the graft will have to mature for up to several months, depending upon the type of graft material used. Once the graft has matured, the implants can be placed.

The sinus graft makes it possible for many patients to have dental implants that previously had no other option besides wearing loose dentures.

A sinus augmentation is generally performed at Dr. Dimitrov‘s office, under local anesthesia. Some patients may request oral or intravenous sedative medication as well.