Sinus Lift & Bone Augmentation
Once you have attended your consultation at Aura Dental, the dentist may talk to you about undergoing a bone graft for dental implants if he believes that your jaw bone is too thin or soft to keep the implant in place in its current state. If the bone cannot support the implant, it may cause the implant surgery to fail.
Bone Augmentation
Those who have worn dentures for years are likely to have suffered bone loss. This does not mean you are unable to receive dental implants; you can still have successful implant surgery through a clinically proven procedure called bone grafting or bone augmentation.
Bone loss is bad news, not only for your teeth, but also for the facial structure. If a tooth is lost and not quickly replaced with a dental implant, over time the bone behind it will recede and give the face a sunken appearance. Bone grafts revitalise and rejuvenate the face while providing the best possible foundation for implant treatment.
- Your own bone tissue is most likely to be successful, but other human or animal sources can be used. In some cases, synthetic material may be the best option.
- Our dentist will insert this bone expertly into your jaw. The reallocated bone will mesh seamlessly into the surrounding tissue over a period of time.
- Once healed, the implant site will be as strong as natural bone and you’ll be ready for implants.
In a bone graft procedure, the surgeon will take a section of bone from another area of your body, or – as is most often the case now – use a special bone grafting material, and graft it onto your jaw bone. You will then have to wait, most likely several months, while the graft creates enough new, strong bone to make sure that the implant will be stable and secure. It is possible if you only need a minor graft that the procedure might be able to be done at the same time as the implant surgery, but your dentist will make the final decision. A successful bone graft allows your jaw bone to be strong enough to support your dental implant.
We know that just like any surgical procedure, a bone graft can be daunting. We are more than happy to talk you through your procedure step by step and work out the best arrangement for you. We’ll always make sure you’re fully aware of every option and comfortable with your informed decisions before moving forward.
Sinus Lift
A sinus lift is surgery that adds bone to your upper jaw in the area of your molars and premolars. It’s sometimes called a sinus augmentation. The bone is added between your jaw and the maxillary sinuses, which are on either side of your nose. To make room for the bone, the sinus membrane has to be moved upward, or “lifted.”
What is sinus lift
A sinus lift is done when there is not enough bone height in the upper jaw, or the sinuses are too close to the jaw, for dental implants to be placed. There are several reasons for this:
- Many people who have lost teeth in their upper jaw — particularly the back teeth, or molars — do not have enough bone for implants to be placed. Because of the anatomy of the skull, the back of the upper jaw has less bone than the lower jaw.
- Bone may have been lost because of periodontal (gum) disease.
- Tooth loss may have led to a loss of bone as well. Once teeth are gone, bone begins to be resorbed (absorbed back into the body). If teeth have been missing for a long time, there often is not enough bone left to place implants.
- The maxillary sinus may be too close to the upper jaw for implants to be placed. The shape and the size of this sinus varies from person to person. The sinus also can get larger as you age.
Sinus lifts have become common during the last 15 years as more people get dental implants to replace missing teeth.
The bone used in a sinus lift may come from your own body (autogenous bone), from a cadaver (allogeneic bone) or from cow bone (xenograft).
Most commonly, bone is used from other animal sources, however, if your own bone will be used in the sinus lift, it will be taken from other areas of your mouth or body. In some cases, the surgeon removes bone from your hip or tibia (the bone beneath the knee).
You will need X-rays taken before your sinus lift so the dentist can study the anatomy of your jaw and sinus. You also may need a special type of computed tomography (CT) scan. This scan will allow the dentist to accurately measure the height and width of your existing bone and to evaluate the health of your sinus.
If you have seasonal allergies, you should schedule the procedure when they are not active.
How
Your surgeon will cut the gum tissue where your back teeth used to be. The tissue is raised, exposing the bone. A small, oval window is opened in the bone. The membrane lining the sinus on the other side of the window separates your sinus from your jaw. This membrane is gently pushed up and away from your jaw.
Granules of bone-graft material are then packed into the space where the sinus was. The amount of bone used will vary, but usually several millimetres of bone is added above the jaw.
Once the bone is in place, the tissue is closed with stitches. Your implants will be placed four to nine months later. This allows time for the grafted material to mesh with your bone. The amount of time depends on the amount of bone needed.
Risks
The main risk of a sinus lift is that the sinus membrane could be punctured or torn. If the membrane is torn during the procedure, the surgeon will either stitch the sinus tear or place a patch over it. If the repair is not successful, your surgeon may stop the procedure and give the hole time to heal.
Your dentist can redo the sinus lift once the membrane has healed. This usually takes a few months. A healed membrane tends to be thicker and stronger, which means a second attempt at a sinus lift is likely to be successful. However, other factors also affect success.
Infection is a risk of any surgical procedure. However, this rarely occurs after sinus lifts.
On rare occasions, the existing bone does not integrate with the bony graft material, and the grafted area does not develop a blood supply. If this happens, any implants placed in this area will fail because there is no live bone for them to attach to. If this happens, you can have the sinus lift procedure repeated.