Sinus lift
Sinus lift or sinus augmentation is a surgical procedure that adds bone to the upper jaw in the area of the molars and premolars for the placement of dental implants. The bone is positioned between the jaw and the maxillary sinuses, two air cavities on either side of the nose.
Lateral window sinus lifts
In this procedure of sinus lift, the access at the sinus is done on the external side of the alveolar bone of the oral cavity. The goal of the sinus lift is to graft extra bone into the maxillary sinus, so more bone is available to support a dental implant – lateral access is usually preformed when we have less than 4mm residual bone height
Minimally invasive crestal sinus lifts
As an alternative, sinus augmentation can be performed by a less invasive osteotome technique. This technique is normally performed when the sinus floor needs to be lifted less than 4 mm. The osteotome technique is performed by flapping back gum tissue and making a socket in the bone within 1–2 mm short of the sinus membrane. The floor of the sinus is then lifted by tapping the sinus floor with the use of osteotomes. Crestal or osteotome approach is usually performed when we have more than 4mm residual bone height.