The sinus grafting procedure is performed by making a small window in the sinus above the roots of the maxillary (upper jaw) teeth and the sinus membrane is carefully lifted. The amount of bone used will vary, but usually several millimeters of bone is added above the jaw. Once the bone is in place, the tissue is closed with stitches. Your implants will be placed four to nine months later. This allows time for the grafted material to mesh with your bone.  An implant can be placed at this site after six to nine months, time required for the body to form natural bone at the site.

Minor discomfort, pain, swelling and minor bleeding are expected after the procedure. Doctor will prescribe pain medication and antibiotics to ease the pain and help with healing and saline sprays to keep the inner lining of your nose wet. Some patients may need to be pre-medicated before the procedure depending upon their medical conditions.

After the Procedure  

After the procedure, you may have some swelling of the area. You may bleed from your mouth or nose. Do not blow your nose or sneeze forcefully. Either one could cause the bone-graft material to move, and loosen the stitches.

• Do not touch or disturb the surgery site
• Do not rinse the mouth. Avoid continuous spitting or cause any other disturbance
• Eat only soft food (ice cream, shake etc) for few days. Avoid chewing food on the side.
• Do not smoke
• Do not brush the surgery site for several weeks.
• If you feel the suture, do not try to pull it. It will do great harm to the bone graft and may force open the wound.
• Finish all the prescribed medications

Follow-up appointments are typically scheduled after one week. Dentist will check the graft site and remove the sutures. After a sinus lift, you need to wait several months for the bony material to harden and integrate with your jaw.