How healthy are your teeth? Although many people are quick to underestimate their dental health, the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of different elements that play into overall dental wellness. From how often you brush and floss to how regularly you attend regular checkups, it is important to stay in close communication with your dentist, especially if you come down with a new symptom. The purpose of this website is to help people to understand and resolve dental issues, since small symptoms can lead to big problems down the road. Check out these posts to learn more about dental care.
You have two maxillary sinuses (skull cavities), one on each side of the nose. If your maxillary sinus is too large, it reduces the available jawbone and makes dental implant treatment difficult. In such a case, you need a sinus lift (bone graft to build up the jawbone) before your implant treatment. Below are some of the common reasons you might have a large sinus that requires a sinus lift treatment.
Naturally Large Sinus
Human anatomy is not uniform; people have different features. You can have a large sinus even if you have never suffered an injury or treatment to that part of the body. Maybe it is an inherited trait from your parents. Whatever the case, you can be born with a large sinus that requires bone augmentation before dental implant treatment.
Bone Resorption
Bone resorption is a process by which a bone loses its density. There are various causes of bone resorption, but teeth loss is a common cause of jawbone resorption. When your mouth is full of teeth, the teeth exert pressure on the jawbone and the jawbone uses the pressure as feedback to keep remineralizing and maintaining its density. If you lose some teeth, the feedback also disappears and your jawbone loses some of its density. After some time, the resorption becomes too much and you need the sinus lift to get an implant.
Periodontal Disease
Periodontal disease (advanced gum disease) may be a common dental disease, but that doesn't make it any less serious. In its early stages, gum disease starts out as an inflammation of gum tissues. If you don't treat the condition early enough, it worsens and spreads into deeper tissues, including the jawbone. Any delay in treatment after this leads to jawbone damage that might require grafting if a dental implant is needed.
Previous Surgeries
Lastly, you may also require a sinus lift due to the effects of previous dental or oral surgeries. Maybe you had a tumor in the jawbone that was surgically removed and it left you with a cavity in the jawbone. You will need to fill the cavity before you can get an implant. Another example is if you had a complicated tooth extraction, which you might expect with an impacted tooth. Such a complicated extraction might damage your jawbone enough to necessitate a sinus lift if you ever want to replace a lost or damaged tooth with an implant.
To learn more about getting a dental implant, contact a dentist in your area.