Sinus Lift Surgery Creates a Foundation for Dental Implants
Chances are you may not hear the term “sinus lift” until you talk to your dentist or an oral and maxillofacial surgeonabout having dental implants to replace missing teeth in your upper jaw. A sinus lift (or sinus lift bone graft or sinus augmentation) is a surgical procedure that is done to add bone to the upper jaw in order to create the proper foundation for accepting dental implants.
Sinus lifts have become more common during the last 15 years as more people choose dental implants to replace missing teeth. Before sinus lifts and dental implants, the only option for people with missing teeth was bridges or partial dentures.
The upper jaw presents different problems for dental implants than the lower jaw.
The maxillary sinuses are behind your cheeks and on top of the upper back teeth. The shape and the size of these sinuses vary from person to person. Sinuses are like empty rooms that have nothing in them. Some of the roots of the natural upper teeth extend up into the maxillary sinuses. When these upper teeth are removed, there is often just a thin wall of bone separating the maxillary sinus and the mouth. In other words, the floor, or membrane, of the sinus touches the roof of the upper jaw.
Adding Bone to the Jaw Bone
The bone used in a sinus lift may come from your own body (autogenous bone) or from other sources. During the sinus lift, your oral and maxillofacial surgeon will create a small, oval window in the jaw bone and gently push the sinus membrane up and away from your jaw. Granules of bone-graft material are then packed into the additional space. Then the incision is closed. Over the next few months, the bone graft meshes with and becomes part of your jaw bone. Four to nine months after sinus lift surgery, depending on the type of material used in the bone graft, your surgeon will place the implants for your new teeth.
Our patients who go through the sinus lift procedure for dental implants are glad they did it. They now have new teeth that look, feel and act like their regular teeth.
No-Obligation Consultation
Schedule a no-obligation consultation about sinus lift for dental implants with the surgeons at Face and Jaw Surgery Center at one of our four, convenient North Dakota locations. Our surgeons are specially trained in oral and maxillofacial surgery and have performed many sinus lift and dental implant surgeries. They can evaluate your needs and recommend the most effective treatment plan.
Face and Jaw Surgery Center serves all of North Dakota and North West Minnesota including Moorhead, MN and East Grand Forks, MN.
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