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Sinus Lifts
City Dental Centers has 6 dentist offices conveniently located throughout Southern California offering sinus lift surgery. Sinus lifts, also known as sinus augmentation can be necessary or beneficial in a variety of oral surgical scenarios.
Whatever your dental concerns are, the dedicated dental teams at City Dental Centers are here to provide you with the highest quality sinus lifts and make your dentist appointments as pleasant as possible.
Info About Sinus Lifts
What Are Sinus Lifts?
Sinus lifts are the generic term used to describe a surgical procedure where your dentist adds bone to the patient’s upper jaw. This bone is placed around the area that supports the rear teeth, also known as molars and premolars. The bone is placed in the area between the areas bordering both the left & right sides of the nose as well as the jaw itself. This complicated oral surgical procedure must be performed by an experienced oral surgeon.
Why Would Someone Need a Sinus Lift?
Reasons a patient may need dental sinus lifts include:
- Shortness of bone height in the upper jaw
- Dental implants need to be installed
- Sinuses currently too close to the jaw
Some people may have lost a few of the teeth in their upper jaw. Often, these are the molars. In this case, some of the bone of the jaw may be lost and more bone must be placed before implants can be given. Bone, gum, or periodontal disease may have caused a decrease in the bone density of the jaw itself.
When people lose teeth, bone is absorbed back into the body in the form of calcium. This takes place because the body feels that, without the teeth, the calcium can be better used elsewhere. However, this natural process also causes loss of vital bone mass in the jaw. Additionally, some patients are born with maxillary sinuses too close together. As a result, tooth implant placement efforts can be hindered without performing sinus lift surgery first.
How Are Sinus Lifts Performed?
On the day of the procedure, the surgeon makes an incision along the gum line in the area where the rear teeth used to reside. Next, this tissue is lifted from the surface, exposing the surface of the bone. After this, your dental surgeon uses a special tool to expose the sinuses where the jaw membrane is moved up and out of the way of the jaw bone itself.
Once the sinus has been lifted, your dentist places bone growth-promoting graft material where the sinus used to be. Finally, after the graft material has been placed, the tissue itself will be closed with a few stitches and you’re sent on your way to heal time to heal. Of course, follow-up appointments with your oral surgeon are necessary to make sure your sinus lift is healing properly.
If you think you may be in need of a sinus lift or sinus augmentation surgery, contact the oral surgery team at City Dental Centers to determine if this procedure is right for you.
