Have you been told by your Manhattan, New York City, dentist or periodontist that you will need a sinus lift before you can consider dental implants? This is a relatively common procedure that makes it possible for most people with significant upper jaw bone loss to have dental implant placements.
What is a Sinus?
When your New York City dental professional refers to a sinus or the maxillary sinus, they are talking about sinuses or empty spaces behind your teeth above the back portion of the upper jaw or maxilla. Sometimes the natural tooth root can extend into the sinus cavity.
Who Needs a Sinus Lift?
There is only a thin wall separating the maxillary sinuses from the mouth. However, sometimes this wall can be extremely thin due to factors such as aging, bone resorption because of tooth missing for a long period of time, periodontal disease, birth defects, or cancer. If this occurs and you need to replace a missing upper tooth with a dental implant, it may not be possible to safely and securely anchor a dental implant in your upper jaw.
Solution for a Thin Sinus Wall
The solution to this problem is called a sinus lift or a sinus graft lift. Dr. Kissel places a bone graft between your upper jaw and the membrane of the sinuses that are near your upper molars and premolars.
How is a Sinus Lift Performed?
In order to perform a sinus lift, Dr. Kissel enters the sinus cavity from the location where the lost upper tooth used to be. Once in the sinus cavity, he detaches and lifts the sinus membrane (Schneiderian membrane) upward and inserts a bone graft into the floor of the sinus. This grafted bone becomes a part of your jaw bone, and once healed, dental implants can be placed.
Consequently, sinus lift surgery makes dental implants accessible to almost everyone. Before the development of a sinus lift, individuals with low sinuses who were missing upper teeth could only replace the missing teeth with dentures which are far less effective than dental implants.
How Long Do You Need to Wait Before Your Dental Implant Procedure?
If you don’t have enough natural jaw bone tissue between your mouth and upper sinus, you’ll need to wait for your sinus lift to heal for several months before the dental implant can be placed. However, if you have enough natural bone between the upper jaw ridge and the bottom of the sinus to provide dental implant stability, your sinus augmentation, and dental implant placement can be performed during the same surgery.
What Makes Dr. Kissel’s Approach to a Sinus Lift More Effective than Traditional Techniques
The traditional or most common techniques for sinus lift surgery can leave you with too much pain and swelling. This is because traditional surgical instruments are large in size and require a large incision site. On the other hand, Dr. Kissel performs the sinus lift procedure using microsurgery techniques that not many New York City periodontists are trained or qualified to do. He uses micro-sized instruments, normally used during eye surgery. By doing so, Dr. Kissel is able to reduce the pain and swelling usually associated with this procedure significantly. In fact, many of his New York City dental patients report they have no pain or discomfort at all after their sinus lift!
Most importantly though, by using microsurgery to perform a sinus lift, Dr. Kissel also significantly reduces the risk of complications. This can be achieved because the better one can see, the more knowledge one acquires resulting in careful manipulation of tissues and critical anatomy. For example, it greatly reduces the risk of perforating the sinus lining. In general, Dr. Kissel’s use of microsurgery provides great benefits to patients.
Book Your Sinus Lift Consultation with Dr. Kissel
If you have been told by your New York City dental professional that you will need a sinus lift before you can consider dental implants, contact Dr. Kissel at his Madison Avenue periodontal and dental implant office. He can perform an X-ray or CT scan and discusses the results with you. During the consultation, he will inform you of the best options for you and provide details about your sinus lift procedure.
When you visit Dr. Kissel’s New York City periodontal office, you can be assured that he uses the most advanced and proven techniques to treat your dental and periodontal issues. His microsurgical techniques allow for a better experience post-op for the patient due to greater accuracy and a more precise operation.
During this consultation, Dr. Kissel can also inform you about the type of dental implants you are eligible for, explain the dental implant procedure to you, and answer all your questions. If you’re ready to replace your smile with natural-looking, functional dental implants, then call Dr. Kissel’s office in New York City for a consultation at (212) 702-9088 or book online.
