What Is a Sinus Lift?

Start with the problem, because the operation only makes sense once you see it. A dental implant needs solid bone to grip. In the back of the upper jaw — where the premolars and molars sit — that bone is often thin, partly because the maxillary sinus, an air-filled space in the cheekbone, sits directly above it and tends to expand downward after a tooth is lost. A sinus lift solves that shortage from above: the surgeon gently raises the membrane lining the floor of the sinus and packs bone graft material into the space underneath, so that, over the following months, there is enough new bone to hold an implant securely.

The short video at the top of this page, "Sinus lift Surgery" by Dr. Ali Arar, runs about a minute and a quarter and shows the procedure itself — a useful visual companion to the steps below. Its own description puts the aim plainly: to increase the amount of bone in the posterior upper jaw, in the premolar and molar area, by lifting the Schneiderian membrane — the thin lining of the sinus.

Step one: planning and imaging

Nothing begins with surgery. Your dentist or oral surgeon first examines the area and takes images — usually including a three-dimensional scan — to measure how much bone is actually present, where the sinus floor sits, and whether the sinus itself looks healthy. That planning stage decides which of the two main approaches fits your case, and whether an implant can be placed on the same day as the lift or needs to wait until the graft has matured.

Step two: reaching the sinus floor

On the day, the area is numbed, and the surgeon lifts the gum where the missing tooth used to be to expose the bone beneath. In the most common approach — the lateral window technique — a small opening is made in the side of the bone, revealing the delicate sinus membrane behind it. In the alternative osteotome approach, used when only a modest lift is needed, the surgeon works up through the socket site where the implant will go, tapping the sinus floor upward from below. Neither approach enters the sinus itself in the way ear, nose and throat sinus surgery does; the work happens underneath its floor.

Step three: lifting the membrane and placing the graft

This is the step that gives the operation its name. Working through the opening, the surgeon eases the membrane — the Schneiderian membrane — upward, away from the bone, creating a small pocket between the membrane above and the jaw below. Keeping that membrane intact is the careful heart of the procedure; a tear in it is the best-known complication of the operation, and surgeons plan around avoiding one.

Bone graft material is then packed into the pocket. Depending on the case, that material may be your own bone, processed donor bone, animal-derived bone, or a synthetic substitute — your surgeon will explain which they use and why. The gum is then stitched back into place over the site.

Step four: healing, then the implant

The graft is not instantly bone. Over the months that follow, blood vessels and bone-forming cells grow into it and it gradually integrates with your own jaw, becoming a firm foundation. Only then — confirmed by imaging — is the implant placed into the new bone, unless your planning scan showed enough existing bone for the implant to be placed at the same appointment and stabilised while the graft matures around it.

If implants themselves are new territory for you, our guide to what a dental implant is explains how the post, connector and crown fit together, and the explainer "How do dental implants work?" shows the principle in motion. A sinus lift also sits in a wider family of preparatory dental surgery: readers comparing options may find our guides to tooth extraction and wisdom tooth removal helpful context.

No condition hub and no relevant calculator exist on this site for sinus lift surgery, so neither is linked.

References & further reading

• PubMed / Cureus — Maxillary Sinus Lift Procedures: An Overview of Current Techniques, Presurgical Evaluation, and Complications: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38156177/
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Dental Implants: What You Should Know: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/dental-devices/dental-implants-what-you-should-know
• MedlinePlus — Dental Health: https://medlineplus.gov/dentalhealth.html

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a sinus lift the same as sinus surgery?
No. Despite the name, it is dental surgery carried out from inside the mouth, underneath the floor of the maxillary sinus. It is not the endoscopic sinus surgery an ear, nose and throat specialist performs for sinus disease.

Does everyone getting an upper implant need one?
No — only when imaging shows too little bone height in the back of the upper jaw to anchor an implant securely. Many upper implants are placed without any lift at all.

How long after a sinus lift can the implant be placed?
It varies. When an implant is not placed on the same day, the graft is usually left to mature for some months first, and imaging confirms it is ready. Your surgeon will give you a timeline based on your own scans rather than a fixed number.

What is the main risk I should know about?
The membrane lining the sinus can tear during the lift — it is the complication surgeons talk about most, and a detailed planning scan is the main way the risk is kept down. Swelling and the usual after-effects of oral surgery are also expected; anything beyond what your surgeon describes warrants a call to them.

MedicalVideos.com has published trusted medical videos since 2007. The site was founded by Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, MD, PhD — physician-scientist.

Educational only — this article is general information about sinus lift surgery, not medical advice and not a diagnosis. Whether you need a sinus lift, and which approach fits you, belongs to your own dentist or oral surgeon.