Loss of posterior teeth may result in excessive forces being
placed on your remaining teeth. Fortunately, the use of dental
implants and crowns allow you to replace these missing teeth. However,
the position of the sinus in the upper posterior areas may be too low
for proper placement of dental implants.
A simple procedure
allows the sinus floor to be repositioned, creating enough space to
properly place an implant. Various grafting materials are used to
encourage your bone to grow more quickly into the area, helping to
stabilize the dental implant. Replace with your own bone in this area
the grafting material as it grows into the area.
Under certain
conditions, an even simpler procedure can be utilized. When possible,
the bone remaining under the sinus floor is gently “pushed up”, thus
lifting the floor of the “dropped” sinus. Bone replacement materials
are then placed beneath this lifted bone. Once again the bone materials
are replaced as your body grow new bone into this area.
Sinus
augmentation procedures are highly predictable, with studies reporting
over 95% success. Following sufficient healing of a sinus augmentation
(6-10 months), implants are placed in a predictable and successful
manner. It is important to realize that if the sinus augmentation
procedure does not result in enough bone for implant placement,
additional bone may be regenerated through a second sinus augmentation
procedure at the time of implant placement.