Transalveolar Sinus Lift and Implant Site Preparation using Motorized Threaded Bone Expanders: A 2-year Retrospective Study

The pneumatization of the maxillary sinus presents serious challenges to the dentist, and the management of such cases is essential for the rehabilitation of the posterior maxilla.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of using motorized threaded bone expanders in transalveolar sinus lift procedures.

This retrospective study was conducted on patients presented to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Tishreen University who had transalveolar sinus lift using motorized threaded bone expanders with simultaneous dental implant placement between January, 2020, and August, 2022. The patients were followed up regularly for six months until loading. Statistical analyses were performed to assess intrasinus bone gain, marginal bone loss, implant diameter, and insertion torque. The correlation coefficient was used to measure the relationship between marginal bone loss and insertion torque value.

Three membrane perforations were observed in 34 procedures (8.82%). The survival rate for all implants was 100%. The main insertion torque was 32.58 N.cm. The mean intrasinus bone gain was 1.69 ± 0.44 mm. The mean marginal bone loss was 0.27 mm. The difference between IBH and bone height after 6 months showed a statistically significant difference. No correlation was found between marginal bone loss and insertion torque value.

According to the results of this study, transalveolar sinus lift using motorized bone expanders showed effective lifting of the sinus floor with minimum marginal bone loss, thus presenting a good solution for pneumatization of the maxillary sinus to achieve a successful rate for implant placement.