Before an implant can be placed in the back of the upper jaw, some patients will require and additional surgical procedure to ensure there is enough bone tissue into which the implant can be secured.
After tooth loss, the maxillary sinus spaces frequently increase their size and consequently the bone gets reduced in height making implant placement difficult.
When the upper jaw has had no teeth for some time, the bone and surrounding tissues begin to disappear. If this occurs, there may not be sufficient levels of dense bone to place an implant. Fortunately, science has advanced a great deal in this area and one solution is to perform a sinus lift.
A sinus lift is an oral surgical procedure that extends into the sinus cavity above the jaw. It is based on repositioning the sinus lining to a higher level and packing a bone graft material into this space. This graft material will be incorporated by the surrounding tissues and form a solid structure very similar to bone. After a waiting period, the site will be checked and once an adequate bone density level is achieved your implant will be ready to be placed.
Posterior maxilla, large maxillary sinus
Dental implants placed into bone graft
Lateral approach window opened
Sinus lining lifted
Bone graft material placed
Preoperative x-ray (large maxillary sinus)
Postoperative x-ray after sinus lift/implant placement
