Sinus Lift Surgery in Springfield & Longmeadow, MA
What is sinus surgery and how will it help gain space for teeth?
Sinus surgery, or specifically, a sinus lift or sinus augmentation, is one of the procedures being conducted by Dr. David Peck and his associates in his facility in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is specifically done on the oral cavity with the objective of adding more bone onto the maxilla, or the upper jaw, to be able to support a dental implant. Grafting more bone onto the existing maxillary bone area will give the dental surgeon more space to replace the patient’s missing teeth. Bone grafts may be taken from other sources or from the patient himself. Although synthetic materials have also been used in such procedures. A sinus surgery like this will take up to six months to heal and successfully support a dental implant, so most dentists prefer to perform the sinus surgery simultaneously with the implant surgery to avoid the necessity of having the patient go through two separate procedures.
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What should I expect from sinus surgery?
Before undergoing sinus surgery, the dentist will conduct a thorough diagnostic screening of the patient’s sinuses and upper jaw area using panoramic x-rays to map out the indicated area. In other cases, a CT-Scan may be taken to measure the height and width of the sinus to verify that there is no active disease process. Once the dentist has established that the patient is clear, the surgery will begin and will be performed inside the patient’s mouth. An incision will be made on the gum tissue to expose the lateral wall of the sinus. The dental surgeon will lift away a portion of the membrane lining the sinus and the bone graft will be placed in the newly created space.
An alternative and less invasive method to the lateral window sinus surgery is the osteotome technique which utilizes generally the same principle but uses a slightly different technique, this time using osteotomes. These instruments are used to gently tap on the sinus floor to lift the sinus membrane. The goal for both procedures is to stimulate bone growth in order to form a sturdier, thicker bone tissue that can support dental implants.
What about recovery?
Recovery from sinus surgery takes three to six months. It takes roughly this amount of time for the bone graft to fuse completely with the patient’s natural sinus bone.
What are the risks of sinus surgery?
The most pressing risk of sinus surgery is the possibility that the sinus membrane could be pierced and ruptured, at which point it will be stitched or patched closed, or allowed to heal before the second operation. Other risks include infection, inflammation, itching, allergic reactions, or scarring.