Sinus Lifting and Bone Grafting
Sinus Lifting Surgery is used for the preparation of Dental Implants. It’s normal if you feel nervous before this type of surgery. Read ahead to learn more about this procedure, costs, and how to recover.
Sinus lifting, also known as sinus augmentation, is a dental procedure performed by an Oral Surgeon. It affects the upper jaw area. Sinus lifting is commonly conducted in patients who are about to undergo dental implants.
Your treatment can be completed in 1 day.
Types of the Procedure
There are two types of sinus lifting method.
- Closed sinus lifting
- Open sinus lifting
Open sinus lifting is used when bone is usually less than 5 mm in the vertical direction. In cases above 5 mm (in case of insufficient bone) closed sinus lifting method is applied. Before application of each procedure, anamnesis, panoramic and tomographic imaging should be obtained from the patient. In closed sinus operations, bone graft is generally not needed.
Open sinus lifting is discussed in this article.
What are Your Sinuses?
Sinuses are basically air-filled cavities located in various areas of your skull. You have sinuses on your forehead, sides of the nose, between the eyes, and behind each eye. The sinus lifting procedure involves the two sinuses near your nose, known as maxillary sinuses.
Sinuses are surrounded by soft tissue with mucus glands and membranes. The maxillary sinuses are held in place by what’s called the Schneiderian membrane. It’s located inside your nasal chamber, where you smell things.
The sinus lifting procedure raises the lower floor of this membrane. Doing so exposes your upper jaw, or posterior maxilla, bone area.
Who Needs Sinus Lifting?
Not all patients who undergo dental implant surgery require sinus lifting beforehand. The main purposes of the sinus lifting procedure for dental implants to be placed, are:
- To increase the amount of bone in your upper jaw
- If sinuses are too close to the jaw
Dental implants are screw-like devices that an oral surgeon drills into your jawbone. The implants should fuse into the jawbone to act as artificial roots for teeth (completed by an abutment and a crown). Implants don’t work if you don’t have enough bone density. In the upper jaw, a dentist can create bone density with grafts. The sinus lifting is done as preparation for this procedure.
Dentists recommend this procedure only under certain circumstances. There are several reasons for this:
- If the bone height in your upper jaw is inadequate for the implant procedure, sinus lifting is necessary to drill the implants in without damaging the sinuses.
- 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 (genetically) jaw for implants to be placed. They are uplifted in order to make room for implants. The shape and the size of this sinus varies from person to person. The sinus also can get larger as you age.
- You may have genetic defects that cause upper jaw bone loss.
- If you need multiple implants in your upper jaw, there may not be enough bone to support dental implants.
Essentially, lifting the sinuses make room for a bone graft. Meaning, the dentist increases bone density in the upper jaw using extra bone taken either from your own body, a cadaver, or a cow. The bone grafting will be a part of your sinus lifting procedure.
About 25 percent of patients for upper jaw dental implants require sinus lifting beforehand. The procedure is fairly common and can be performed without causing complications.
Many patients who have undergone the procedure report that the procedure made breathing easier or improved their sense of smell afterwards.
When Implants Can Be Made After a Sinus Lift Operation?
If the patient’s own bone height is less than 4 mm in the area where the sinus lift is performed, it is necessary to wait for the grafted bone to transform in the bone tissue in order to place the implants. In about six months after the operation, bone tissue reaches sufficient stiffness and implants can be placed.
If there is more than 4 mm of bone in the area where the sinus lift operation is performed, it is possible to place the implants at the same time after the sinus lift operation.
Sinus Lifting Procedure
Please keep in mind that the implant surgery will be performed the same way following the lifting. The only difference is that the whole treatment will be a bit longer because of the additional sinus lifting surgery.
Here’s what you can expect from the procedure in general:
The Examination
If you are planning to get upper jaw dental implants, you will need to take a Panoramic X-Ray to make sure the implants can be placed without damaging the sinuses. It would be better if we look at the X-ray in advance, than we can give you a realistic cost estimation with realistic treatment time for your implant procedure with or without sinus lifting. It is also possible that your X-rays can be taken here at Dentalara clinics free of charge. As a result, your dentist will determine if you need a sinus lifting procedure done. You will be directed to an oral surgeon for further examination.
X-rays and CT scans (computed tomography) of your upper jaw will be used to help the dentist and the surgeon understand where your sinuses are located and evaluate the health of your sinus. Your surgeon will also use the X-rays to measure accurately the height and width of your existing upper jawbone.
The first step also involved examining the health of your sinuses. Your sinuses should not be active when you undergo the procedure. So if you have a seasonal flu, allergies, or the occasional sniffles, it will have to pass before you are ready for the procedure.
Preparation
During this preparation stage, your dentist or oral surgeon will discuss your overall medical history. You will need to undergo general anesthetic to be sedated for the surgery. So this will be something up for discussion. Your oral surgeon will ask you about any medications you are on, so the drugs will not counteract with any drugs you will get for the surgical procedure.
You can also discuss your bone grafting options with your dentist. During the procedure, the dentist will fill your upper jawbone with bones sourced from elsewhere.
The Bone Grafting Procedure
When your sinuses are lifted, it creates a hole exposing your upper jawbone. The oral surgeon would then fill this hole with bone, adding more density to the bone. There are several types of bones you can choose from. These include your own bone (usually comes from the big bones in your legs), cadaver bone, bovine bone or synthetic materials. There are many options nowadays that you can discuss with your dentist. Your dentist will recommend either one of the above, or more likely, a combination of bone graft materials to use in the surgery.
The Surgery
The sinus lifting procedure will be completed by an expert oral surgeon. You will first be sedated and then the procedure will begin.
There are several techniques that dentists use to lift the sinuses. All the techniques start by making an incision into gums to expose the bone. The oral surgeon will have to make a small hole in the bone to get access to the sinus. This is called a “lateral window.” The window exposes the sinus membrane. The surgeon will then use a special tool, like a spatula, to uplift the sinus floor above the upper jawbone. This process is very delicate. In some cases, the membrane tears. If this happens, the oral surgeon will fix it, but it would take more time, and might result in complications.
When the sinus membrane is finally lifted, it makes a sort of a cavity area where the bone is now exposed. The oral surgeon will fill this area with the bone graft material. The material should fuse with the existing upper jawbone and add more density to it.
In the final part of the surgery, once the bone is in place, the tissue is closed with stitches. The surgeon will place a collagen membrane to aid with healing. You will be sent to a recovery room.
Immediately after the procedure, you may experience some swelling in the sinus region. You will have to avoid forceful sneezing or blowing your nose for several days until the swelling reduces. Your oral surgeon will prescribe saline and other drugs to manage the swelling. It’s highly unlikely that you will experience any pain apart from slight discomfort after the procedure.
Recovery Period
Most patients have only a little discomfort after a sinus lifting procedure.
Immediate Recovery
Soon after the surgery, once you have woken up from being sedated, you will experience pain and discomfort in your sinus area. You may experience bleeding from your mouth and nose. The surgical area would be swollen. It would take several days from the swelling and inflammation to subside.
Your dentist will recommend medication at this point to aid in healing. You will be instructed to avoid blowing your nose hard for several days following the surgery. Any such forceful move could dislodge the bone graft material in your upper jaw.
About a week after the surgery, you will have to schedule a checkup with your dentist to ensure you are recovering as expected. In the meantime, you should immediately report any severe side effects to your dentist. For example, if the bleeding doesn’t stop after two days, you must inform your dentist right away.
Long Term Recovery
The stiches in the surgical would can come off 7 to 10 days after the procedure. Afterwards, you will have to wait 6 to 9 months for the wounds to completely heal and for the bone graft material to fuse into your upper jawline.
Your dentist would most likely recommend scheduling several visits to occasionally check up on your healing. But you should be careful until the graft material is fused.
Complications from the Sinus Lifting and Bone Grafting Procedures
Sinus lifting surgery is a serious and invasive surgical procedure. Complications are not common, but you should be aware of the following risks regardless:
- Inflammation of blood vessels
- Infection of the surgical sites
- Injury to facial or oral cavity nerves
- Permanent numbness in parts of the mouth from anesthetic used
- Injury to adjacent teeth
- Jawbone fracture
- Sinus penetration
- Bone grafting material not fusing as intended
- Failure of the jawbone to heal properly afterwards
Certain lifestyle habits or preexisting diseases, like diabetes, could increase your risk for side effects or complications from the procedure.
As a patient, you should be aware that sinus lifting procedures sometimes fail. That is, the bone graft doesn’t work as intended. If this happens with you, your dentist will recommend another or a different procedure.
As a result, the success of this operation is affected by the patient’s postoperative care and non-smoking conditions, as well as the ability of the surgeon. Therefore, these operations must be carried out by experts.
Sinus Lifting and Bone Grafting Costs
The sinus lifting procedure itself does not cost a lot of money. However, the expense of the procedure will be added to your overall implant procedure, in which case the total costs can be quite hefty.
Dentists charge anywhere from around £ 600 to £ 3,000 in the UK. These costs are per side, and may be higher depending on how complex the work is and how much bone graft material is required.
You can also consider getting the procedure done abroad for a much lower cost. Of course, you would have to choose a country carefully. Not all countries follow the same medical standards. Turkey is generally considered a good option for budget-friendly dental procedures for patients from abroad.
Dental care costs in Turkey are much lower compared to the UK and the US. However, the standards are not. Turkish dentists are trained according to EU standards. Dental care in Turkey is on par with countries like Germany when it comes to quality. But the costs are lower on the clinical front. Furthermore, these costs are lower in Antalya than which in Istanbul due to lower rentals, salaries etc.
While you can get dirt cheap sinus lifting procedures done in countries like Thailand and India, you would be risking lower care standards in these countries. In Antalya, Turkey, you will be assured of the best care with Dentalara.
Obviously, you should spend money to get the best quality care when undergoing a surgery like this. But Antalya, Turkey is the area where you can save money.
Dentalara offers very reasonable rates for sinus lifting procedure. Prices are changeable between £ 400 and £ 550 for sinus lifting; between £ 300 and £ 400 for bone grafting. Please keep in mind that the prices for bone grafting are changing in accordance with the material used. Dentalara is here for you to provide with the local list prices which are better than the prices listed for international guests at other clinics.
Experienced and skilled Oral Surgeons will proceed your Sinus Lifting surgery. Your treatment can be completed in 1 day.
Please contact us to get a free quote for Sinus Lifting in Antalya Turkey. You can save 70% compared to Western European countries and the United States.