Patent ID: 7662188

Claim:
An internal sinus manipulation procedure for augmenting bone of a dental patient between a bony floor of the patient's sinus and a raised portion of the patient's sinus membrane, comprising: creating an upward channel in bone within a maxillary posterior area of the patient such that an upper end of the channel extends to a base of the bony floor of the sinus and is sized to expose a portion of the patient's sinus membrane over the upper end of the upward channel; selecting a sinus membrane lifting instrument sized to extend upwardly within the channel and including (i) a longitudinally extending handle (ii) an angled neck extending longitudinally at an upward angle outward from the longitudinally extending handle and (iii) a working tip extending at an upward angle outward from the angled neck and having an upwardly curved upper surface for positioning by the angled neck against the exposed portion of the sinus membrane extending over the upper end of the upper end of the channel; moving the selected membrane lifting instrument upward into the channel until the angled neck positions the upwardly curved upper surface of the working tip against the exposed portion of the sinus membrane over the upper end of the channel; while the curved upper surface of the working tip engages the exposed portion of the sinus membrane, laterally moving and turning the instrument on its longitudinal axis allowing the working tip to separate the sinus membrane from the bony floor of the sinus around the upper end of the channel and the curved upper surface of the working tip to simultaneously lift the exposed portion of the sinus membrane and the sinus membrane separated from bony floor of the sinus around the upper end of the channel to form an open pocket between the sinus membrane and the bony floor, followed by a further lateral moving, turning and lifting of the sinus membrane lifting instrument and its working tip within the pocket to enlarge the pocket to a desired size and shape; introducing a bone grafting material through the upward channel into the enlarged pocket; and compacting of the bone grafting material within the enlarged pocket.