The Clinical Effectiveness Comparison Between Modified Crestal Approach and Lateral Window Sinus Floor Elevation: A Prospective Study.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the clinical outcomes of modified crestal and lateral approaches in maxillary sinus lift.

METHODS

Fifty patients with single missing posterior maxillary teeth and severe bone deficiency (residual bone height < 5 mm) requiring implant placement were selected from a tertiary hospital's dental department between January and December 2023. Patients were randomly assigned to the modified crestal sinus lift group (experimental group) or the lateral window sinus lift group (control group). Behavioural cognition was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), postoperative pain was quantified using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Bone gain was evaluated by Gained Bone Height (GBH), and implant success rate and complication incidence were recorded. The t-test was used for intergroup comparisons, and categorical data were analysed using the chi-square test. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

RESULTS

Significant differences were observed between the experimental and control groups in pre- and postoperative behavioural cognition, surgical time, and VAS pain scores (p < 0.05). No significant differences were found in bone gain, implant success rate, or complication incidence.

CONCLUSIONS

The bone augmentation outcomes of the two surgical techniques were essentially comparable. However, the modified crestal approach demonstrated advantages over the lateral window technique in terms of minimal trauma, improved patient behavioural cognition, and reduced postoperative pain. These findings suggest that optimising minimally invasive sinus lift techniques may enhance clinical applications, particularly with patient-centred considerations.