Can You Skip a Sinus Lift With Mini Implants?

If you’ve been considering dental implants to replace your missing teeth, you’ve likely heard that a healthy jawbone is essential. Because these titanium screws secure in your jaw, they require ample bone structure to stabilize. Unfortunately, those looking to replace missing teeth often lack the necessary jaw structure, as tooth loss causes the bone to gradually lose mass and volume. In many cases, pacientes como tú require additional procedures, such as a sinus lift, before beginning the implant process. However, many try to avoid sinus lifts by using mini dental implants, the smaller and sleeker version of a conventional implant. Because these implants have a slim diameter, people often believe they can skip the sinus lift and get right to implant placement! But is that really how a sinus lift works?

What Is a Sinus Lift?

Most people assume that a sinus lift involves altering the sinuses directly. In reality, it’s more focused on your upper jawbone than the sinus itself!

When looking to replace missing teeth with implantes dentales, a healthy and full jaw is crucial, especially for upper restorations. However, some people have a naturally thinner upper jawbone, or have lost significant jaw structure due to tooth loss! For those patients, a sinus lift can help rebuild their bone, ensuring that their sinus membrane doesn’t interfere with their implant placement.

Depending on how much bone you’ve lost, we will use one of two sinus lift methods.

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  Direct sinus lift: When patients have lost significant amounts of bone structure, we utilize a more direct approach. This involves creating a small window in the upper jawbone, thereby exposing the sinus membrane. Then, using specialized dental tools, we gently lift the membrane up and out of the way. After moving your sinus, we fill the now-empty space with bone grafting material to facilitate bone growth! Within 4 to 9 months, your bone will be solid enough to support a dental implant.

• Indirect sinus lift: For patients with less severe jawbone loss, we can use an indirect sinus lift, or “sinus bump.” This method is much less invasive and doesn’t require cutting into your bone. Instead, we create a hole where the future implant will be placed, revealing your sinuses. Then, we gently lift the membrane up and out of the way, filling the remaining space with bone grafting material. While similar to a direct sinus lift, a sinus bump is a less invasive procedure, allowing us to place a dental implant immediately afterwards.

While the method we use depends on the percentage of bone lost, mini implants may help you avoid a sinus lift altogether!

How Mini Implants Help You Avoid a Sinus Lift

Miniimplantes dentales are less than 3 mm in diameter, which is almost half the size of a conventional implant.

While these implants still require a strong jawbone for support, we can often place them in minimal bone. Mini implants feature a sleek design, often allowing patients to forgo bone grafting procedures. In some cases, this may include sinus lifts, as mini implants are less likely to disturb your sinus membrane.

However, not all patients are eligible to skip the sinus lift, even with mini implants. These small screws are still just as long as conventional implants, posing a risk to those with larger sinuses or thin upper jaws.

Fortunately, even for those who require a sinus lift, mini implants allow us to use a sinus bump rather than the direct approach! This procedimiento mínimamente invasivo is much simpler, allowing for faster healing and stability.

To determine if you require a sinus bump, we recommend visiting Fine Dental Care for a free implant consultation. Not only will we be able to discover if you need a sinus bump, but we can also formulate a custom treatment plan for your smile!

Visit Fine Dental Care in Wayne, NJ, To Learn More!

Dental implants require ample jawbone, which many patients don’t have. Fortunately, mini implants are much smaller, allowing you to either skip the sinus lift or get a sinus bump instead! Using this minimally invasive implant, we can restore your smile in fewer appointments and at an affordable price.

Reserve una consulta gratuita sobre implantes at Fine Dental Care to learn more about the mini implant process!

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