Bone Grafting-Sinus Lift and Augmentation | Chantilly VA
Approximately 20 percent of all patients don’t have a sufficient amount of jawbone in their upper jaws to support the dental implants that they may get to restore the missing teeth. In these patients, the sinus floor lies very close to the region where the placement of teeth implants occurs. Sinus lift or sinus augmentation is a procedure that is done for these patients to add the additional bone so that the surgeon can place dental implants.
What are the sinus lift and augmentation procedure?
A sinus lift and augmentation are essential in patients in whom the height of the bone in their upper jaw is not sufficient enough for the placement of teeth implants. This issue can also be congenital in some patients in whom the sinuses are situated very close to their jaw. In a sinus lift procedure, the oral surgeon adds bone between your maxillary sinuses (situated on both sides of the nose) and the jaw. The surgery is so named as to provide enough space for the bone grafting, the surgeon has to move upward or lift your sinus membrane.
What are the reasons that you may need a sinus lift procedure?
You may need the procedure due to the following reasons:
• Trauma
• Long-term loss of teeth in your upper jaw (especially the teeth situated at the back)
• Loss of bone due to gum (periodontal) disease
• Damage to the jaw bone due to a previous surgery
• The maxillary sinus is situated very close to (or is very large for) that area where you need a dental implant
Are you an ideal candidate for the sinus lift and augmentation procedure?
You may be a candidate if you fulfill any of the following conditions:
• Greater than one teeth are missing in the back portion of the jaw
• A large amount of jaw bone is missing in the back portion of the jaw
• Your teeth are missing due to a congenital condition or defect
• Most of your maxillary teeth are missing, but you need support for placing dental implants
What leads to a decrease of bone in the upper jaw?
Many people don’t have teeth in their upper jaw, especially molars. The mass of jawbone is already less in this area, but with a missing tooth, there is further deterioration or resorption of the jawbone. The act of chewing and biting stimulates the jawbone to continuously build new bone. When teeth are missing, there is no stimulation of the jawbone and it starts deteriorating immediately. Loss of bone can also occur as a result of periodontal disease.
How does bone grafting through a sinus lift and augmentation help place dental implants?
During a sinus lift and augmentation procedure bone mass is added to your upper jaw. After the sinus lift procedure, the jawbone becomes higher and thicker. This provides sufficient jawbone mass so that it can fully support the dental implants when they are screwed into the bone.
The Sinus Lift Surgery Chantilly VA
The surgeon opens your gum tissue at the area of the back molars to expose the bone. Then they make a small hole in your upper jaw and access your sinus. A membrane lines the sinus that separates it from the jaw. The surgeon pushes up the membrane and takes it away from your jaw.
Now they pack a bone-grafting material into the space created by pushing up the membrane. In the majority of the cases, the main aim is to increase the bone height by several millimeters.
After placing the bone graft, the surgeon closes the tissue with sutures to finish the procedure. The bone requires four to nine months to grow before it is sufficient enough to support dental implants.
Sinus Lift Recovering Procedure
You may develop some swelling around the area of your upper lip and nose. You may also have slight bleeding from the nose or mouth. It is important to not sneeze through the nose or blow the nose for at least one month.
Your doctor will give you saline spray for keeping the inner lining of the nose wet. They will also prescribe a mouthwash (antimicrobial), antibiotics, and medicine to help relieve congestion and inflammation.
You have to visit your surgeon periodically so that they can check the progress of healing and bone growth.
Low Risks with Sinus Lift Procedure
The main risk associated with a sinus lift is a hole in your sinus membrane. In case this happens, your surgeon will stitch back the membrane or close the hole using a patch.
Another risk is of non-integration of the existing jawbone with the graft material. If the bone does not integrate then there will be no blood supply to the bone; hence, the new bone will be not alive and not function. In such cases, the implant fails and the procedure has to be done again.
The risk of infection for this procedure if very low.