Socket Preservation

Your dentist may recommend you to have a socket preservation procedure done right after the extraction of one of your teeth.  Socket preservation is usually done to maintain the bony ridge where a tooth used to be.  When a tooth is removed, there is slight loss of bone in the area.  Where the bone is usually thick, such as in the molar (a back tooth) area, the chance of significant bone loss is minimal.  In areas where the bone is thin, such as in the front area, the chance of significant bone loss is high.  Sometimes there is no bone to the lip-side of the root of front teeth.  When there is little or no bone, especially the lip-side, bone loss will occur and the ridge will collapse, making it impossible for an implant placement without a much more complicated grafting procedure.

It is much easier to preserve the ridge shape than to recreate the shape.  Socket preservation is relatively simple.  Immediately after the tooth is removed, some type of grafting material is placed into the socket.  Then the graft material is usually held in place with some type of membrane or soft tissue graft and sutures.  This socket preservation procedure is not anymore painful than the extraction itself.  The result is wonderful.  The extracted site will have plenty of bone for future implant placement.  Even with a conventional bridge, the ridge will look full under the pontic (fake tooth), giving the impression of having a natural tooth in the area.