The nasal lift technique for augmentation of the maxillary ridge: technical note

Abstract

Placement of dental implants in a severely resorbed anterior maxillary alveolar ridge is limited by the fact that implants may penetrate the nasal cavity. However, when the maxilla shows unusual anatomical changes, reconstruction with implants can be a challenge. Options to increase the bone in this region to permit placement of implants include: maxillary onlay bone graft, Le Fort I interpositional bone graft, and augmentation of the nasal floor, which is a procedure where only the piriform rim and the anterior nasal spine are exposed through an intraoral approach. In our case we modified this to what we call the nasal lift technique, which is a combination of turbinectomy followed by lifting of the anteroposterior nasal floor through a lateral window using autogenous bone or bone substitutes to augment the space.