Sinus Lifting & Ridge Augmentation

Maxillary sinus floor augmentation (also termed  sinus lift,  sinus graft,  sinus augmentation or  sinus procedure) is a  surgical procedure which aims to increase the amount of bone in the  posterior  maxilla (upper jaw bone), in the area of the  premolar and  molar  teeth, by lifting the lower  Schneiderian membrane (sinus membrane) and placing a bone graft.

When a tooth is lost the  alveolar process begins to remodel. 

The vacant tooth socket collapses as it heals leaving an  edentulous (toothless) area, termed a  ridge. This collapse causes a loss in both height and width of the surrounding bone. In addition, when a maxillary molar or premolar is lost, the maxillary sinus pneumatized in this region which further diminishes the thickness of the underlying bone.Overall, this leads to a loss in volume of bone that is available for implantation of  dental implants, which rely on  osseointegration (bone integration), to replace missing teeth. 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.

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