If you’re not a candidate for dental implants in your upper jaw, you may require sinus lift surgery to make you one. At Georgetown Advanced Dentistry in Washington, DC, Sinclair Davis, DDS, Diana Diaz, RDH, and the team perform sinus lift surgery to place a bone graft in your upper jaw. To learn more about sinus lifts and find out if you need the procedure, call Georgetown Advanced Dentistry, or book an appointment online today.

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What is a sinus lift?

A sinus lift is a procedure to expand the bone in your upper jaw. Your maxillary sinuses are the spaces on either side of your nose within your face. In order to expand the jawbone, your dentist must lift the membrane of the sinus upward.

During sinus lift surgery, your dentist cuts an incision in your gums to expose your upper jawbone. They cut a circular hole in your jawbone to access the membrane of your maxillary sinus. They lift the membrane and place bone grafting material into the new space between the membrane and your jawbone.

Your dentist closes the incision to allow your bone to fuse to the graft. You may have several options for the graft, including artificial bone material or grafted bone from elsewhere in your body.

When is a sinus lift necessary?

You might need a sinus lift if you want to get one or more dental implants in your upper jaw. There are several reasons why you might not have enough bone in your jaw to support an implant, including:

  • Gum disease
  • Missing teeth and roots
  • A naturally large maxillary sinus
  • A naturally slim upper jawbone

During the planning stage of your dental implant treatment, the team takes X-rays and other images to view the bone in your jaw. They go over the images with you and tell you whether or not a sinus lift is necessary in your case. Not everyone interested in dental implants requires a sinus lift or bone graft.

What happens after my sinus lift?

The recovery after sinus lift surgery is easy and only takes a couple of days. You might notice some slight swelling or bleeding during this time, but this is completely normal. In order to keep the stitches in place and avoid disrupting the graft, you should:

  • Avoid blowing your nose
  • Avoid sneezing to the best of your ability
  • Use a saline spray in your nose
  • Take medications like antibiotics and pain relievers

About a week after the surgery, you come back to Georgetown Advanced Dentistry for a follow-up appointment. If your stitches aren’t dissolvable, the team removes them at this time. They also make sure there are no complications with your sinus lift and that your mouth is healing successfully.

If you’re interested in dental implants for teeth in your upper jaw, call Georgetown Advanced Dentistry, or book an appointment online, to find out if you need a sinus lift today.