Losing your back teeth can be problematic, as it often leads to bone loss in the jaw which can make placing dental implants difficult or impossible. If you have lost upper back teeth and are experiencing bone loss in that area, a sinus lift at Novudentics may be a solution. A sinus lift is a procedure performed by our experienced dental specialists to add bone grafting material to the sinus cavity, which helps regenerate bone in the upper jaw.
What is a sinus?
The sinus is the empty cavity that is filled with air on the right and left side of our upper arch. It is the cavity that connects the oral with the nasal cavity in both sides of our face. The sinus cavity has a membrane in its most lower part that has to stay intact every time we performa dental procedure; otherwise the patient might experience symptoms like pain and discomfort or even an infection of the cavity called sinusitis.
With a sinus lift, there is often enough new bone growth to allow for dental implant placement, restoring your smile and ability to chew.
What is a sinus lift?
In case that the bone is not adequate to place an implant, a procedure called sinus lift or sinus augmentation is performed that will “push” the membrane of the lower part of the sinus higher; this will allow the prosthodontist to add bone and augment the site so the implant can be placed. The procedure is straightforward and comes with minimal occasional complications as long as it is performed from a dental specialist.
Sometimes, the sinus lift procedure is the only option for the patient and can make a tremendous difference in the quality of life of our patients. Call Novudentics at 561-567-7880 for your clinical and radiographic evaluation.
How is the sinus related to the teeth?
The posterior teeth are very important for the occlusal and esthetic function of the patient. Missing the posterior teeth and not replacing them can be correlated with an older facial appearance, reduced chewing ability and occlusal malfunction that can lead to temporomandibular disorders.
Replacing the posterior teeth in the maxilla requires having enough bone height and width for implant placement. There are cases that the bone is not adequate for the implant placement. This is determined by a very accurate radiographic examination called CBCT (cone beam computed tomography).