Behind your cheeks and on top of the upper teeth are the maxillary sinuses. These are empty spaces that connect to the nasal cavity. Some of the roots of the natural upper teeth extend up into this area.
When upper back teeth are removed, the floor of the maxillary sinus actually grows downward. This can make placing dental implants impossible if there is no longer enough depth of bone to hold the implant.
However, this does not bar implant placement. To solve the lack of bone, there is a procedure called a sinus graft or a sinus lift graft.
Often times the implant can be placed at the time of the sinus graft.
Procedure: Dr. Carbonaro enters the sinus, above where the upper teeth used to be. The sinus membrane is then lifted upward and donor’s bone is inserted into the floor of the sinus.
After several months of healing, the donor’s bone becomes part of the patient’s jaw and dental implants can be placed and stabilized in this new sinus bone.