Research on rhinosinusitis risk factors in dentistry

Maxillary sinus and its surrounding anatomical areas are essential in the practice of otorhinolaryngology, oral and maxillofacial surgery and dentistry.

Replacement of missing teeth with dental implants is becoming increasingly popular in contemporary dentistry. The implants may be used both as a support for a crown, as a replacement of a single tooth and a bridge as replacement of several teeth, and even for a dental prosthesis. If the maxillary bone volume is insufficient for inserting the implant, a surgical intervention in the maxillary posterior teeth (called sinus lift) is required.

Rhinosinusitis might serve as a cause of failed surgery, therefore, prior to sinus lift surgery it is essential to carry out clinical and radiological examination of patient’s maxillary sinus.

Maxillary sinus inflammation might have several causes, among them – inflammation of maxillary posterior teeth.

The goal of the research is to determine the rhinosinusitis risk factors prior to sinus lift, grade the patients into the risk groups according to rhinosinusitis prognosis, as well as to evaluate clinical signs of odontogenic rhinosinusitis and informative value of cone beam computed tomography in its diagnostics.

The author has put forward clinical recommendations for patient examination prior to sinus lift and developed an informative leaflet for patients that contains the information with regard to the nature of the manipulation, possible complications and alternative prosthetics techniques, as well as a material for physicians – CBCT image analysis algorithm.

For further studies, the author has developed an electronic database for the analysis of factors determining implant survival.