Palatal sinus elevation revisited: a technical note.

The palatal sinus lift is a good choice for patients with scarred buccal soft tissue and those with poor wound healing such as smokers or diabetics or when visual side effects such as swelling must be concealed. We provide a surgical protocol for palatal sinus lifting without a vertical release incision. The incision is started in a slightly palatal aspect, at the distal end of the dental arch, and describes a curve laterally on the alveolar crest while running in a mesial direction. As a marginal incision, it can continue to the central incisor. Submucosal exposure will lift the gum and the greater palatine artery. After insertion of a tongue depressor, the sinus is opened on the palatal side, opposite the zygomaticoalveolar crest, using a rose bur or a piezotome. After sinus augmentation, the incision is easy to close, and the wound will heal smoothly.