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Have you been told you’re not a candidate for dental implants? To be a candidate for full mouth dental implants, patients need to have enough healthy bone to place an implant. However, hope is not lost if there isn’t enough healthy bone. A sinus lift could be just what you need to make your smile transformation possible.
As one of the two oral surgeons here at Nuvia in Tampa, I often work with patients who are eager for a new smile but may need some additional help to get their bone prepped for dental implants. This article is all about what I like to tell them about the sinus lift procedure.
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What is a Sinus Lift and Why is it Done?
So, what exactly is a sinus lift?
Simply put, a sinus lift is a surgical procedure designed to add bone to your upper jaw in the area of your molars and premolars.
This is necessary when there isn’t enough bone height in the upper jaw or the sinuses are too close to the jaw to place dental implants.
Over time, the maxillary sinuses (those air-filled spaces in your cheek/nose area) can enlarge, and the bone in your upper jaw can deteriorate, especially if you've lost teeth in that area.
Think of it like this: if you don’t use it, you lose it. Without the roots of your teeth stimulating the bone, your body repurposes that bone elsewhere.
This can leave you without enough bone to anchor dental implants. That’s where the sinus lift comes in.
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Different Types
When performing a sinus lift, we need to add bone to the upper jaw to support dental implants. There are several types of bone grafts we can use:
Autografts: These bone grafts come from the patient's own body, usually sourced from another part of the mouth or body. The major advantage of autografts is that they are biocompatible and have a lower risk of rejection since they come from your own body.
Allografts: These are grafts from a human donor. The donor bone is processed and sterilized to remove any potential for disease transmission and to reduce risk of the body rejecting it. Allografts are a good option for those who may not have enough bone in their own body.
Xenografts: These grafts come from the bone of a different species, usually cow bone. The bone is processed to be safe for human use. Xenografts provide a strong scaffold for new bone growth and are often used when larger amounts of bone are needed.
Benefits
The main benefit of a sinus lift is that it allows us to place dental implants in the upper jaw when there’s insufficient bone height for traditional dental implants.
This means even with some bone loss in the upper jaw, it is possible to restore your smile.
A sinus lift paired with dental implants also helps maintain the structure of your face by preventing bone loss in the jaw, which can lead to a sunken appearance.
If you’ve been told that you are not a candidate for dental implants due to bone loss, there could still be hope with advanced dental techniques such as sinus lifts or even zygomatic dental implants.
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Permanent Teeth in 24 Hours After a Sinus Lift
A sinus lift adds an extra step in the process to get dental implants as implants can’t be placed until what could be a 6 month long recovery period after the sinus lift procedure.
The traditional dental implant process, which may take up to 10+ months to give you your permanent teeth, is already daunting enough. A sinus lift on top of that can make your dream smile feel ages away.
However, permanent teeth in 24 hours is possible after a sinus lift. Instead of going through the traditional dental implant process and waiting for what could be an additional 10+ months for permanent teeth, you can get your permanent teeth 24 hours after your dental implants are placed.
That means after your sinus lift is complete and you’ve waited the healing period, you can get dental implants and have your permanent teeth 24 hours later.
An alternative to sinus lifts could also be zygomatic dental implants. These implants are placed further up in the cheekbone rather than the jawbone. You can still get your permanent teeth 24 hours after your implants are placed, even if your surgeon places zygomatic dental implants!
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