When a tooth is extracted from the jaw bone an extraction socket is formed. The body will naturally heal this in about 3 months. Initially a blood clot forms, then fibrous tissue and finally solid bone. Unfortunately, the walls of the socket often collapse inwards and the volume of bone remaining is reduced. This is especially problematic if a dental implant has been planned to replace the missing tooth. The greater the bone volume, the easier and more predictable the implant surgery.
The best solution to preventing this problem is to preserve the bony extraction socket with bone graft material at the time of the extraction. This can either be human bone, bovine or porcine or synthetic. All work well but differ in the time they take to turnover into native bone. The extraction socket is then protected with a resorbable membrane and some stitches and left to heal for 3 to 9 months.
This procedure uses the bone graft like scaffold to support the bone of the extraction socket to prevent it collapsing or subsiding preserving precious bone volume for future implant surgery.
Recent Comments