The Role of Bone Tacks in Sinus Floor Lift Surgery: A Single-Center Experience

Background: Maxillar atrophy is a prevalent condition associated with diminished bone volume, which precludes the conventional placement of dental implants. Sinus floor lift is a surgical procedure that aims to address this atrophy through the insertion of a graft within the sinus cavity. A multitude of techniques have been documented in the international literature for the management of the sinus bone window, though each approach has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Methods: The present study is a retrospective analysis of traditional sinus floor lift surgery, comparing the outcomes of two surgical approaches: placement of a collagen membrane over the maxillary lateral bone window with or without bone tacks. The study enrolled a total of 48 consecutive patients. Twenty-four patients underwent sinus floor lift surgery, with the placement of a collagen membrane over the maxillary lateral bone window without bone tacks (control group). The remaining 24 patients underwent the same procedure, but with bone tacks (study group). All patients received an amoxicillin 875 mg + clavulanic acid 125 mg administration for six days and underwent Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) before the sinus floor lift surgery and six months later before the implant surgery. The parameters measured on the preoperative Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) scan included residual bone, the preoperative thickness of the lateral bone in the center, and the distance between the lateral wall and the medial wall of the sinus. Only the bone height increment was measured on the postoperative CBCT scan. Postoperative complications and the visual analogue scale (VAS) score were also recorded. A statistical analysis was performed, and the correlation between the parameters was evaluated using Pearson's correlation coefficient. A comparison of the mean of the parameters between the treatment group and the control group was conducted using the t-test. Results and Conclusions: The study group was found to have superior outcomes in terms of bone height increment (p = 0.001) and VAS after 7 days (p = 0.11) compared to the control group. The novel application of bone tacks on the collagen membrane over the bone window following sinus elevation surgery was associated with superior outcomes in terms of bone height and reduced pain at seven days, as measured by the VAS, with no postoperative complications.