Introduction: Sinus lift procedures have undergone various modifications and improvements throughout the years. The aim of this study is to compare the most common techniques (lateral and crestal) and their use according to the clinical case.
Materials and Methods: We collected data from numerous researches and conducted a survey among several doctors of dental medicine. We also managed to participate in the follow-up examinations of some of the patients who had undergone such a procedure. The patients (age 20-60 years, irrespective of gender) were equally divided into 2 groups - in the first group the direct method (lateral antrostomy) was used and in the second one - the indirect (crestal approach). The patients from both groups were followed-up post-operatively on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 12th week. The implant stability was checked on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th month. We took into account the following criteria:
- Clinical assessment - pain, gingival inflammation and swelling, implant stability
- Radiological assessment - graft uptake and bone-implant connection, bone augmentation
Results: There was a slight prevalence of patients who suffered pain, gingival inflammation and swelling when using the direct method. However, there was no statistically significant difference in these clinical aspects. We must emphasize the reduction of post-operative discomfort and complications when a piezoelectric unit was used. The comparison of bone height augmentation showed almost two times greater results in the 1st group than the 2nd one. This could be contributed to the use of bone grafting materials.
Conclusion: The results of our survey corresponded to those of some previous researches and prove that if both methods are applicable in a case, the decision depends mainly on the needs of bone height augmentation.