Sinus Lift Treatment

If you are looking in to getting dental implants, the doctor will have to evaluate how far your sinuses are from your jaw. The doctor will also want to check the amount of bone you have on your upper jaw. If the sinuses are too close to the jaw or there isn't enough bone on the upper jaw (typically where the back molars once were), the doctor will have to perform a sinus lift, which adds bone to the upper jaw, so that implants can be secured.

Procedure

• Sinus lift is a surgical procedure. Bone will be taken either from the patient or from a cadaver. They will then cut open the gums and push up the membrane of the sinus, away from the jaw bone, creating a gap. This gap is then filled with bone graft granules and the skin of the gum is stitched back over the insertion point.

Waiting Period

• It's interesting, just putting granules of bone next to your regular jawbone can create a more solid bone structure. But that's exactly what happens. The granules, over a 4 to 9 month period begin to fuse with the existing bone and form a solid mesh for placing the implants.

Immediate Aftercare

• Once the procedure is done, the patient will, most likely, experience inflammation in the sinus area and could have some minor bleeding from the mouth and nose. Blowing the nose should be avoided at all costs as this can cause the bone graft material to shift allowing the sinus liner to move back down. Sneezing is also warned against. Doctors often prescribe medication to keep a patient from sneezing in the months following the procedure.

Post Operative

• For the next several months after surgery, doctors will have their patients use a saline spray which helps to keep the nasal cavity moist. They'll also work on the mouth end of the surgery using antibacterial mouthwash to keep the surgical incision free of bacteria and germs.