Sinus lift for Nobel implants
Making room in the upper back jaw where the sinus has taken the space
Above the back teeth of the upper jaw sits the maxillary sinus, an air-filled cavity. When those teeth are lost, the sinus tends to expand downwards into the space their roots occupied, and the bone left between the sinus floor and the mouth can become too shallow to hold an implant. A sinus lift raises the sinus membrane and places graft material beneath it, creating the bone height an implant needs. It is a well-established procedure, and whether you need one is established by CBCT assessment rather than by examination alone.
How the treatment runs
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Assessment
CBCT assessment measures the bone height remaining between the sinus floor and the ridge.
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Approach
Where a few millimetres are needed, the lift may be done through the implant site itself. Where more is needed, it is done through a window in the side of the jaw.
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Graft placement
The sinus membrane is lifted and graft material placed in the space created beneath it.
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Healing
The graft consolidates over months before it can support an implant, in staged cases.
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Implant placement
Placed at the same visit where enough bone remains to hold the implant, otherwise later.
Alternatives you should know about
- Shorter implants placed in the bone available, where the plan allows
- Angled implant placement forward of the sinus
- Zygomatic anchorage in severe cases
- A removable prosthesis, avoiding surgery
Why the upper back jaw is the difficult region
Two things happen at once there, and they compound. The ridge resorbs from below after the teeth are lost, as it does anywhere in the jaw. And the sinus expands from above, because the pressure that once held it in place has gone with the roots.
The result is that bone height can reduce from a comfortable fifteen millimetres to two or three, and it does so silently. Patients are frequently surprised by this, because nothing hurts and nothing is visible in the mirror. It shows on a scan.
Two approaches, chosen by how much is needed
Where the shortfall is small — a few millimetres — the lift can often be done through the same channel prepared for the implant, gently pushing the sinus floor upwards and placing graft material through that opening. It adds little to the surgery and the implant usually goes in at the same visit.
Where the shortfall is larger, access is made through a small window in the side of the jaw, the membrane is lifted more extensively, and a greater volume of graft is placed. This is a bigger procedure, and the implant more often waits for the graft to mature.
Both are routine in experienced hands. Which one applies to you is a measurement, not a preference, and a clinic should be able to tell you which it plans before you travel.
What it means for your timeline and cost
A simultaneous lift adds modestly to a single surgical visit. A staged lateral-window lift adds months and a separate procedure, and it should be quoted separately rather than folded into a headline price.
This is one of the most common reasons a quote given without a scan turns out to be incomplete. If you are missing upper back teeth and have been quoted a price without anyone seeing a CBCT, the sinus is the reason to ask.
Getting an assessment
Send a CBCT scan if you have one — a panoramic radiograph will show the sinus but not measure the bone reliably. The clinical team at Taki Dent can review it and set out whether a lift is likely, which approach applies and what it means for time and cost. A final plan is confirmed after clinical examination and radiological assessment at the clinic.