Sinus Lift Surgery: Building Bone Where Your Sinus Is in the Way

Your maxillary sinuses, air-filled spaces in your skull, sit directly above the roots of your upper back teeth. When these teeth are lost, the bone in that area can gradually shrink, and the sinus floor can also naturally drop slightly lower over time, sometimes leaving too little bone height between the jaw ridge and the sinus to safely place a standard-length implant.

A sinus lift, also called sinus augmentation, is a surgical procedure that gently lifts the sinus membrane upward and places bone grafting material into the resulting space, building up additional bone height in the upper back jaw specifically to support a future dental implant.

A lateral window approach accesses the sinus through a small opening created in the side of the jawbone, generally used when a more significant amount of bone height needs to be added. A crestal approach, sometimes called an internal sinus lift, is a less invasive technique performed through the same site where the implant will eventually be placed, generally used when a smaller amount of additional height is needed.

Under local anesthesia, sometimes with additional sedation, your surgeon carefully accesses the sinus area using the appropriate technique for your case, gently lifts the sinus membrane, and packs bone grafting material into the newly created space beneath it, then closes the site to allow healing.

Sometimes, particularly with the less invasive crestal approach when only a smaller amount of additional height is needed, an implant can be placed during the same procedure. More extensive lateral window procedures often require a longer healing period before the implant itself is placed, once the newly grafted bone has properly matured.

This varies based on the extent of grafting needed, but many cases require several months, often cited in the range of four to nine months, for the grafted material to develop into solid, mature bone capable of properly supporting an implant.

Most patients describe recovery as similar to other bone grafting procedures, involving manageable swelling and discomfort in the days following surgery, generally controlled with prescribed pain relief, rather than severe or unusual pain.

Beyond the general risks associated with any bone grafting procedure, there's a specific, though uncommon, risk of the sinus membrane being punctured during the procedure. If this occurs, your surgeon is trained to manage it, sometimes by repairing the membrane during the same procedure or adjusting the treatment plan accordingly.

Contact your surgeon if you experience significant nosebleeds, unusual nasal congestion or drainage that seems connected to the surgical site, or symptoms that seem to indicate the sinus itself is affected beyond the expected mild congestion some patients experience temporarily after this procedure.

No, this depends entirely on your individual bone height in that specific area, which is evaluated through imaging. Some patients have adequate natural bone height and don't require this additional procedure at all.