When you initially see a dentist in Ajax for dental implants, they will carefully assess your jawbone health. If you need dental implants to replace your upper back teeth, you may need a sinus lift or sinus augmentation. Although the name may initially sound alarming, a sinus lift is a very common procedure.
How Can My Dentist Tell If I Need a Sinus Lift?
When you first see us here at Durham Dental Implant Solutions to learn more about implant treatment, we will need to take some diagnostic X-rays and a cone beam CT scan. While X-rays produce high-quality 2-D images of your jaws and any natural teeth, a cone beam CT scan provides 3-D images from any angle. The CT scan is handy in allowing our dental implant dentist in Pickering to accurately measure the width and height of existing bone and evaluate your sinus cavities.
Your sinus cavities are located just above your upper back teeth and are air-filled spaces. A sinus augmentation is a surgery that builds up bone in the upper jaw, between your molars and premolars. To make room for the additional bone, a dental implant dentist in Whitby must move the sinus membrane upwards between your jawbone and sinuses. When the membrane is lifted, it creates extra space into which new bone grafting material is packed.
Why Would I Need a Sinus Lift?
Because the upper back teeth are so close to the sinus cavities, there is often insufficient bone height in the upper jaw as the bone here tends to be thinner. Other times, the bone may have resorbed after tooth loss, especially if you had periodontal disease or lost these teeth some time ago. Sometimes, the sinuses are naturally too close to the jawbone. There must be enough bone to support the dental implants fully, hence the need for a sinus lift.
What Is the Process for a Sinus Augmentation?
We take every precaution to ensure the treatment process is as smooth and comfortable as possible. Our dental implant dentists in Oshawa use the latest techniques and equipment during bone grafting procedures. We are cautious during a sinus lift, using ultrasonic PIEZOSURGERY®. This specialized technology is gentler and accurate, allowing us to access the sinus cavity while protecting your gums and sinus membrane as much as possible. This technique enables our Clarington dental implant dentist to section bone with extreme precision, causing less bleeding and faster healing.
After first numbing the area to be treated, the jawbone is exposed so the dentist can cut a small opening in the bone. Next, the sinus membrane is gently lifted, creating a space that can be filled with bone grafting material. Afterward, the incision is closed, and you can begin to heal. Afterward, you may have slight swelling or other side effects, but we can discuss these more fully and offer advice on keeping the surgery site clean during healing.
As your sinus lift in Newcastle begins to heal, the bone graft meshes with your bone, creating a solid foundation where we can insert dental implants. Sometimes, we use plasma-rich growth factors, taking plasma from your blood to further speed up the healing process.
Our dentists have decades of dental implantology experience between them and routinely complete sinus lift augmentations in Courtice, so you are in safe hands. If you need this treatment, we can discuss it in more detail and answer all your questions.
