Last updated on August 14th, 2023
A sinus lift can be a pre-requisite operation before getting implants. Dental implants are one of the most common treatments today, but some exceptional cases might require a sinus lift surgery long before your dental implants. Although the surgery is conducted in many clinics today, there are still some points you might be wondering about.
In this guide, you will read about the frequently asked questions about sinus lift and find clear explanations about sinus lift before and after, sinus lift cost, sinus lift aftercare, and more…
What Is Sinus Lift?
A sinus lift, also known as sinus augmentation or sinus graft, is a surgery to make dental implants easier and stronger. To understand what sinus lifting is, it is better to understand the relation between sinus lift and implant. Although you don’t hear them together in a regular conversation, you should know that not every implant is carried out smoothly and easily. Unfortunately, it is not easy or somehow not even possible to get implants for some people.
It is crucial to learn about a potentially needed sinus surgery before getting implants. Then, you can refer to your dentist to understand whether you need it or not. However, when it comes to the surgery, the sinus lift procedure is performed by specialized dentists such as oral surgeons or periodontists.
Who Needs a Sinus Lifting?
Implants have been one of the most common treatments recently. However, we cannot say that a dental implant is a simple procedure. As you might already know, dental implants are placed in the jawbones. Unfortunately, some people don’t have a healthy jawbone due to teeth loss or bone loss. Those people are advised to have a sinus lift before getting their implants placed. By sinus lifting, the surgeon opens some more space for bones to be worked on. Hence, your bones can support the implants more strongly and comfortably.
If you have lost teeth in your upper jaw and your bone has been reabsorbed in your body, you might need a sinus lift operation before getting dental implants abroad. The good news is that not all cases of tooth loss end up with a lack of bone, so you don’t need to be worried about that very much. However, there are some more factors resulting in bone loss. One of the most common ones is periodontal gum disease. Although you are not losing any teeth, you might have bone loss inside your jaw if you are suffering from periodontal gum disease.
How Is Sinus Lift Procedure?
A sinus lift is a three-step procedure (before, during, and after). First of all, as in any other surgery, the patient’s motivation and positive attitude are key points for success in the sinus lifting operation.
Before the surgery, the dental professionals will need an X-ray of your mouth to determine what part of your jaw needs to be worked on. Also, they try to decide on where to cut tissues from and which sinus load will be lifted. Another thing that dental professionals consider before the surgery is to find a suitable bone to place in your jaw. At this point, they consider getting a little piece of bone from your own body, from a cadaver, or a cow.
During the operation, the dental professional starts with cutting the gum tissue. This is done very carefully in order not to get an undercut or overcut in your mouth. Then, the professional exposes the bone hidden under the tissue by raising it. Next, he cuts a small circle on the bone and pushes it up to the sinus.
Then, the bone graft taken from your body or other alternative sources is put into the circle hole to fill the gap. Now you have a new bone to be merged with the existing body of the bone. Finally, the incision is closed, and you wake from anesthesia.
After the surgery, you wake from the anesthesia and probably feel a little bit of discomfort. The area swells in a short time in most cases, and you are supposed to put ice around your face. Also, you are given some medicine to relieve the pain, to prevent bacteria or infection. One of the most important things you should do is keep the bone graft stable so that it merges faster and better.
To this end, you should avoid nose-blowing and sneezing because they might damage the stitches and make your bone graft move. Finally, it would help if you didn’t let your nose dry. You are generally given saline sprays to keep inside wet.
7-10 days after the surgery, you are supposed to go for a follow-up appointment. On this appointment, the dental professional checks the progress, removes some stitches if needed, and takes another X-ray to see the bone structure inside. Your jaw cannot be ready to put implants on sooner than six months. So, you should be patient, and you should care for yourself properly.
Is Sinus Lift Procedure Painful?
As reported by many patients, sinus lift or sinus augmentation is not painful. Therefore, they can still concentrate on other things in their lives. However, they also report that the procedure is not comfortable, though. Especially the first 3-5 days can be very uncomfortable for patients, but after that, they feel much better.
How Long Does Sinus Lift Procedure Last?
The sinus lift surgery takes 1-2 hours, depending on the patient’s jaw structure, incision size, etc. The healing period takes 3-4 days. You are invited to a delayed appointment with your dental professional 7-10 days after the operation. However, you cannot get your implants before six months since you need to wait for your bone graft to be part of your existing bone structure. This period can reach 12 months for some patients.
How Much Does Sinus Lift Surgery Cost?
Depending on the source of bone graft, procedural complexities, physician’s or clinic’s pricing, the cost of a sinus lift surgery can change. And, of course, the cost of the operations varies drastically from country to country. For example, a sinus lift operation can cost up to $5000 in the USA, while it costs only $400 to $1000 in Turkey.
What Are the Risks Of Sinus Lift?
There are some inherent risks in dental sinus lift surgery, as in many other operations. The risks are damage to the sinus membrane, infection, and sinusitis. Sinus membrane puncture might happen, and this might be dangerous for you. However, repairing the membrane is still possible by stitching the sinus tear. Although it is easy to repair, it still makes patients distressed since they need to wait for healing, which makes the procedure longer.
Another risk is an infection, which is a common risk in all operations. Depending on the sterilization of the surgery (including dental professionals, medical tools, surgery room, etc.) and your self-care after the procedure, you can minimize this risk. Another risk, which is very rare, is the non-integration of bone graft. In this case, the grafted areas cannot get blood and cannot be genuinely part of your body. This means you have the same procedure again.
What To Be Careful About Having Sinus Lift in Turkey
As you may already know, Turkey is one of the most budget-friendly places to have dental treatment in the world. Many people are coming to Turkey for dental treatment and have a good time in the most attractive places in Turkey. The service quality and the qualifications of the professionals in Turkey are at really high standards, even higher than many other European countries.
People from other countries usually find a dental clinic in Turkey after a google search, or they just hear about the clinic from other people around. Whatever your way of the first contact is, you should still consider some points before going to Turkey.
You should ask for the details of the treatment as much as possible. You should ask for the price. You can also ask about the dental professionals, such as their degrees, certifications, experience, etc.
You can also consider your touristic needs together with your dental treatment. However, you should always keep in mind that your health comes before a holiday. You should know that many clinics in Turkey are located in Istanbul, and they have branches in Ankara and some other touristic destinations such as Bodrum, Antalya, Marmaris, or Fethiye.
Finally, you can evaluate the clinic options considering their communication with you for a sinus lift. In fact, this is a common point rather than being particular to Turkey. You can avoid the clinics that cannot provide you with satisfactory information on their services or the operation procedure such as aftercare, potential complications, etc. They might also use hard-sell strategies too heavily, which might give you no time to think, which is frustrating.
