There are two ways to "lift the sinus" if you are missing bone for an upper back tooth.
Read this post first and watch this sinus graft video to understand the two main techniques and understand why this procedure is needed.
"Internal Sinus Lift Procedure"
This procedure is used when the bone loss of the upper back tooth area is minimal. In this minimally invasive procedure, the sinus bone is actually moved up through the implant site at the same time the implant is placed.
The black hole above the missing tooth is the sinus:
This is my plan measured on the digital x-ray below. The yellow object is the proposed implant.
So the bone is not "tall" enough to place the implant without puncturing the sinus.
The squiggly area is the proposed area that I will add bone. This will "lift" the sinus membrane and allow the implant to be anchored in more bone.
It is important to have a long enough implant so it does not move. An implant, like a screw in the wall, needs to be tight. When an implant is tightly held in bone from day one, it has a very high success rate.
In this x-ray you can see the bone added to the sinus through the implant. It looks like a "cloud" at the end of the implant!
For this patient I used 100% bovine (cow) bone. I have a very high success rate with it for this procedure. The bone is CAREFULLY "pushed" through the implant socket and into the maxillary sinus.
In about four months, the new bone will fuse with my patients bone. At that point, the ceramic crown can be made.
This is a very delicate, technique sensitive procedure that works very well when you just need a little extra bone and are only missing 1 or 2 teeth.
If you are missing 3 or more adjacent teeth in an area that the bone is not tall enough, a traditional "lateral" window sinus bone graft will probably be necessary. I would need to do a detailed exam to be able to tell you which way would work best.
If this technique is possible in your situation, it can really decrease the cost and time of having a dental implant.
Most of my patients will use tylenol or advil after this procedure. My personal techniques, combined with sedation actually dramatically decreases pain AFTER the procedure too.
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