Abstract
Purpose: Post-operative pain and swelling are frequently observed after sinus lift procedures. The aim of the present study was the clinical evaluation of swelling and pain of two different sinus flap lift techniques using a visual analogue scale (VAS), verbal rating scale (VRS), and infrared thermal imaging (i.e., thermography). Materials Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 15 patients (30 sinuses in total) randomly allocated into two groups. For the sinuses of Group I a trapezoidal flap was used, while for Group II a modified triangular flap without anterior release was utilized. Postoperative pain was scored by means of a 100-mm VAS ranging from 0 (no pain) to 100 (worst pain imaginable), and was recorded at 2, 4, 6 and 14 days after surgery. Swelling was recorded by a verbal rating scale (VRS) and was classified into four categories: a score of 1 referred the absence of swelling, patients with intra-oral swelling in the surgical zone scored 2, any extra-oral swelling in the surgical zone scored 3, and intense swelling exhibited by extra-oral swelling extending beyond the surgical zone scored 4. The facial temperature was recorded before and after sinus augmentation, and at 2, 4, 6, and 14 days post-surgery to check the course of healing. Results: In Group I pain intensity was recorded at 2 days after surgery with a mean score of 38.67 ± 6.4 mm. Swelling was greater at 2 and 4 days, and was absent at day 6. The facial temperature difference before and after the procedure was 4.737 °C ± 0.37. In Group II the pain score were lower than in Group I (p < 0.05). The score for swelling was 2 on the first and second days, and was reduced on day 4. After the second day the difference in temperature was significantly reduced as compared to the day of surgery (0.77 °C); at 2 and 4 days no difference was registered. Conclusions: The results of this clinical study show the significant effectiveness of the modified triangular flap in the sinus lift procedure for reducing pain and swelling.
Highlights
Post-operative pain and swelling are frequently observed after sinus lift procedures
Different anatomical factors influence new bone formation; the healing and mineralization processes after sinus lifting are negatively correlated with the width of the bucco-palatal sinus [10,11], with the width of the bony window during lateral sinus augmentation [12,13], and with reduced crestal height [14,15]
The results of this clinical study show the significant effectiveness of the modified triangular flap for performing lateral sinus lifts, with a reduction in postoperative pain and swelling
Summary
Post-operative pain and swelling are frequently observed after sinus lift procedures. Different anatomical factors influence new bone formation; the healing and mineralization processes after sinus lifting are negatively correlated with the width of the bucco-palatal sinus [10,11], with the width of the bony window during lateral sinus augmentation [12,13], and with reduced crestal height [14,15]. There is a positive correlation with the number of sinus walls in contact with the grafting material in cases of large sinus cavities because new bone formation starts from the residual crest and continues in a centripetal direction [16]
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