Before an implant can be placed, some patients will require surgical preparation in the upper jaw to ensure there is enough bone tissue into which the implant can be secured.
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 and packs bone graft material into this space. This graft material will be incorporated by the surrounding bone 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.
Internal sinus lift
There are now more newer techniques available to allow sinus lifting in a more minimally invasive way (Piezosurgery/ Versah). Implants can often be placed simultaneously allowing faster recovery and better outcomes.
External sinus lift
Sometimes if there is not enough vertical height of bone a more traditional method of sinus lifting is necessary.
Below is some further information on conventional sinus lifting.
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