Dental implants help us bring back your smile after tooth loss. They connect to your jawbone and hold a crown, bridge, or denture firmly in place, so you can bite and chew like you would with natural teeth. However, when you lose teeth, your jawbones start to shrink. If you’ve lost teeth in your upper jaw, you may have been told that dental implants aren’t possible because of bone loss. One way we can restore lost bone in the upper jaw is by performing a special bone grafting surgery called a sinus lift.
A sinus lift helps add bone volume in the upper jaw, making dental implants possible. Sometimes, we recommend this surgery to successfully place dental implants. But you don’t always need a sinus lift for dental implants, thanks to the way mini dental implants have improved dentistry.
Why Is a Sinus Lift Needed?
When you lose teeth, you don’t just lose the visible crown. You also lose the root, which performs an important function: it stimulates the jawbone when you bite and chew, providing healthy stress that keeps the bone strong.
When you lose teeth, you lose this mechanism. As a result, the bone starts to weaken and deteriorate. Once you lose enough bone, your jaw may be too small to support a conventional dental implant.
One solution is a sinus lift, a bone grafting procedure that builds up the bone in the upper jaw to safely hold a dental implant.
Before the sinus lift procedure, Dr. Miller will choose the bone grafting material, which can come from a part of your own body, a donor, or the bone from a cow. All of these options are safe, effective materials for grafting. Then, he will take images to study your jaw and sinuses in order to decide what’s best for you.
How a Sinus Lift Works
There are several sinus lift techniques we may use. The method needed for your case will depend on your unique bone structure. If you need to add substantial bone, Dr. Miller will perform a direct sinus lift. To do this, Dr. Miller first makes an incision into the gums of the upper jaw. Then, he raises the tissue to show the bone underneath. He cuts a small window into the bone, lifts the inner part of the sinus membrane, and fills the space with a bone graft. Lastly, he closes the incision.
After 4-12 months, the bone graft fuses into your jaw. During the healing phase, you might notice swelling or light bleeding. We recommend that you don’t try to blow your nose or sneeze frequently. This can move the bone grafting material or loosen the stitches. Afterwards, you should have sufficient bone volume for dental implants!
When you come in for a consultation, Dr. Miller will explain the sinus lift procedure in detail. He will make sure you understand all of the post-procedure care steps, so you heal effectively.
Do I Need a Sinus Lift for Dental Implants?
The sinus lift oral surgery allows us to restore some of your bone loss, which supports traditional implants. Although the procedure is safe, many of our patients prefer to avoid it if there’s an alternative. So what other options do you have?
If you have lost too much bone to support traditional dental implants, we might be able to avoid bone grafting by using mini dental implants instead. The mini implant is more than 40% smaller than a traditional implant. Because mini implants are so much smaller, they require much less bone to stay securely in place.
This means that, in many cases, you don’t need a sinus lift to restore your smile. When you come in for a consultation, Dr. Miller will assess your unique jaw structure and determine the best dental implant treatment plan for you based on your needs and goals.
Book a Free Dental Implant Consultation
Dental implants are a long-term solution for missing teeth because they anchor securely into the jawbone. However, if you’ve lost too much bone after tooth loss, placing traditional dental implants can become difficult or even impossible. A sinus lift is a safe and effective way to rebuild the upper jawbone when volume is lacking. Still, we understand that many patients would prefer to avoid bone grafting procedures altogether. That’s why, at Bent Tree Dental, we offer mini dental implants. Their smaller size often allows us to skip the sinus lift and still provide a secure, lasting solution.
When you come into our office, we will help you find the best path forward. Dr. Miller will look specifically at your case to explore if a sinus lift and traditional implants make sense. Or, he may find that he can replace the missing teeth in your upper jaw with mini implants alone. To discover what’s best for you, schedule a free dental implant consultation today.
