Sinus lifts are only needed when upper jawbone is too thin.
It’s really disappointing to lose a tooth, especially in the upper jaw. On top of that,t coming to know that you need a “sinus lift” before a dental implant can be done adds a whole different level of worry. Most of the time,s patients imagine that it will be a major surgery and a very painful process.
Actually, a sinus lift is quite a normal and simple operation.
It aims to give you a smile that will last a lifetime. Travelling to Turkey for dental restorations is something patients do every day. Many of them come with very difficult anatomical conditions. Based on our clinical experience at Lema Dental Clinic, it is of utmost importance to properly treat these situations. Proper treatment is what distinguishes between a dental implant, which is only good for a decade,e and an implant that is really strong and lasts a lifetime.
What follows is what we get at the clinic and how we conclude if this extrastep, preliminarily, is a must-do for you.
Get to Know Your Body: Bone, Sinus, and Space
Looking at why a sinus lift might be included in your treatment plan, the first thing we have to do is see your upper jaw.
Right above your upper molars are your maxillary sinuses. These are empty, air-filled cavities.
Imagine your upper jawbone as the base structure of a building. The new dental implant is a major support pillar. If you do not have enough bone (soil), you will not be able to fix the pillar securely. The implant would simply pierce the top of the bone and enter the air-filled sinus right above.
What Are the Reasons Behind Bone Loss?
The bone that once held a tooth will gradually decrease once the tooth is gone. The reason for this is that the bone requires the stimulation of chewing to maintain its strength.
- Duration: The longer the tooth has been missing, the less bone remains.
- Periodontal Disease: The gum disease influences the bone density negatively, long before the tooth finally falls out.
- Natural Anatomy: Some people have larger sinuses and thinner bones in their jaws as a result of hereditary factors.
After tooth loss, you can lose up to 25 % of the surrounding bone volume within the first year, which is faster than most patients think bone resorption occurs, Prof. Dr. Coşkun Yıldız explains.
What Is a Sinus Augmentation, Really?
Occasionally, our 3D imaging will uncover that your bone is not deep enough to provide a haven for a dental implant. When this is the case, we will have to increase the vertical height.
What exactly is the surgical procedure like? First, the surgeon very softly opens the area where your upper teeth were located. The sinus membrane is highly sensitive, and it is comparable to the thin skin you can find on the inside of the eggshell. We lift the membrane with great care.
Then, we put bone graft material into the newly created space under the membrane. Over time, your body will naturally convert the grafted bone into healthy, natural bone. The entire setup will act as a robust foundation for titanium implant installation later on.
The Diagnostic Process: Who Declares?
Why wouldn’t you want to bypass this step? Well, let’s dig deeper into the diagnostic process.
We don’t make a guess when it comes to surgical foundations. Dentist Polen Akkılıç and her team are very conservative in their approach to planning surgical procedures. Before raising any scalpel, we take state-of-the-art 3D scans. These images provide our team with the exact millimeter measurement of your bone depth. If your bone height is less than 4 to 5 millimeters, then a sinus lift is a must-have for a conventional implant.
Treatment Timelines & Expectations
So the question is: how does this impact the duration of your treatment in Turkey?
| Treatment Pathway | Procedure Details | Healing Time Before Implant | Risk of Failure (If Skipped) |
| Sufficient Bone (No Lift) | Direct insertion of the titanium implant into the jaw. | 0 months (Immediate placement) | Low |
| Minor Bone Deficit (Internal Lift) | Bone is minimally elevated through the drill hole. | 0 months (Simultaneous placement) | Low |
| Severe Bone Deficit (Lateral Lift) | A small opening is made in the bone to place a large amount of graft. | 4 to 6 months | Extremely High |
Frequently Asked Questions
The word surgery is frightening for many patients. The truth is, the procedure is done under deep local anesthesia or sedation. You may feel some pressure, but not pain. Most of our patients actually say that after the surgery, they have less pain than after a simple tooth extraction.
No way. The areas we work in are just small millimeters inside the upper jaw. It does not change your facial features, your nose, or your voice. You will see and talk as before.
We select very purified, biocompatible grafting materials. They work as a safe scaffold. Your body doesn’t ‘reject’ this scaffold. On the contrary, your own bone cells move into this scaffold and replace it with your natural bone. The only real risk is infection, which is why we provide strict antibiotics.
This is a very important part of the recovery. You have to refrain from blowing your nose, playing wind instruments, and sneezing with your mouth closed during the first two to three weeks after your surgery. These actions cause pressure which, in turn, can tear the delicate healing membrane or shift the new bone graft.
The determining factor is your existing bone volume. Minor lift and implant placement on the very day can both be done if you still have the bare minimum bone to hold onto the implant. Paper-thin bone means that 4 to 6 months must be the healing time for the graft before anything else can be done. The leading cause of implant failure is rushing this process.
- Boyne, P. J., & James, R. A. (1980). Grafting of the maxillary sinus floor with autogenous marrow and bone. Journal of Oral Surgery, 38(8), 613-616.
- Tatum, H. (1986). Maxillary and sinus implant reconstructions. Dental Clinics of North America, 30(2), 207-229.
- Wallace, S. S., & Froum, S. J. (2003). Effect of maxillary sinus elevation on survival of dental implants. Annals of Periodontology, 8(1), 328-343.
- Pjetursson, B. E., Tan, W. C., Zwahlen, M., & Lang, N. P. (2008). A systematic review of the success of sinus floor elevation and survival of implants inserted in combination with sinus floor elevation. Journal of Clinical Periodontology, 35(8 Suppl), 216-240.
- Lundgren, S., Andersson, S., Gualini, F., & Sennerby, L. (2004). Bone reformation with sinus membrane elevation: a new surgical technique for maxillary sinus floor augmentation. Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research, 6(3), 165-173.
