Bone (or Socket) Preservation
What is bone preservation?
Bone preservation is a process by which a synthetic, animal-derived, or human-derived bone augmentation material is inserted into the bone to ensure the bone in the area is dense and stable for future treatments. Bone (or Socket) preservation, is one of the many surgeries we perform.
Why would I want bone preservation?
Bone preservation is the procedure of choice after a tooth extraction because it helps maintain your natural bone for as long as possible.
You may chose to place a dental implant into this area and having dense bone is the first thing we check.
If you choose to have an extraction and not have a bone graft placed, this could cause a problem in the future if you decide to replace the missing tooth. It also makes dentures and bridges better and more predictable, so it’s preferable no matter what you think you might want to do with that space.
How does it work?
After a tooth is extracted, the socket is thoroughly cleaned and the grafting material is placed inside. Some stitches, or sutures, are used to close the gums.
Over the next several months, your body will naturally fill in this area with your own natural bone, making it dense and solid for a future implant.
If you chose not to graft, the walls of bone typically collapse and only partially fill with bone, making an implant more difficult, or even impossible.