Your sinuses are big hollow holes above your upper teeth. The roots of your upper back teeth are really close to your sinus. In order to have dental implants in that area, sometimes a sinus lift bone graft is necessary to treat the expanded sinus. Whether you live in Burbank ,Glendale or Los Angeles, all of our sinuses pretty much expand when teeth are lost.
When you lose your teeth, your sinus expands. This destroys the bone needed to have dental implants. When these upper teeth are removed, there is often just a paper thin wall of bone separating the maxillary sinus and the mouth.
Normal Moderate expansion Severe Expansion
When all teeth are present, the sinus is protected from expansion which is really bone loss. The presence of teeth keeps the maxillary sinus in place. The expanding sinus destroys surrounding bone.
Most of the sinus lift bone grafts I do in my Burbank, California office are to add back the lost bone height from the expansion of the sinus. If you are missing teeth on both sides, then usually the bone loss happens on both sides too. Dental implants prevent bone loss.
You can prevent the need for a sinus lift bone graft by either placing your implant on the same day the tooth is extracted (immediate implant) or by placing the dental implants within a few months of losing the tooth or teeth.
There are two main ways you can add bone to an expanded sinus: (follow links for details)
In cases where the sinus has greatly expanded, your body may form or accentuate “septae” in your sinuses. Septae are like “cross bar stabilizers in the sinus when the sinus is big and expanded. Sinuses with septae should be grafted by a very experienced implant surgeon to reduce the chance of the sinus membrane ripping (perforation.)
Ramsey A. Amin, D.D.S.
Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology /Implant Dentistry
Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry
Burbank, California
http://www.burbankdentalimplants.com
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