Graftless sinus lift simultaneously with dental implants placement: a prospective cohort study

This study aims to evaluate the clinical outcomes of a graftless sinus lift technique performed simultaneously with dental implant placement in the posterior maxilla, using a prospective cohort design. The primary objectives are to assess implant survival, bone gain, and complication rates over a minimum 60-month follow-up period.

A prospective cohort study was conducted over an 8-year period. Patients were divided into 2 groups: the test group, consisting of 74 patients who underwent sinus membrane elevation without the use of any grafting material (graftless), and the control group, consisting of 15 patients who received sinus augmentation with bone grafts.

Our results clearly showed a high implant success rate of 97.76% in the graftless group, outperforming the 86.6% success rate observed in the grafted control group. Further analysis revealed that residual bone height was a statistically significant factor influencing implant success across both groups.

The findings of this study demonstrate that graftless sinus floor elevation performed simultaneously with dental implant placement in the posterior maxilla is a safe and reliable procedure. This study benefits from several strengths, including its prospective design, relatively large patient cohort, and long-term follow-up period of over 5 years.