Minimally Traumatic Extraction
To minimize the loss of bone, Dr. Gottesman, Dr. Pitman, and Dr. Bogart will take great care to protect the surrounding bone during the initial extraction. Removing the tooth with meticulous precision allows us to “preserve” the ridge of bone that will support your future implant.
Significant bone loss occurs when a tooth is extracted. At the time of the extraction, a portion of the surrounding bone may be removed along with the tooth. Additional bone loss occurs in the months and years following an extraction, as the bone may continue to resorb in the absence of the tooth’s roots.
This bone loss can present problems for patients who wish to pursue dental implant placement at some point. Dental implants require a sufficient amount of bone to facilitate the osseointegration process that makes these appliances so sturdy.
Carolina Bermudez from the Z100 Elvis Duran and the Morning Show was sedated with nitrous oxide to have a tooth removed and the extraction socket grafted with a Straumann bone graft. After waiting four months for the grafted extraction site to mature, Dr. Edward Gottesman replaced the tooth with a BIOMET 3i dental implant.
Socket Grafting/Ridge Preservation
Ideally, patients should get a dental implant as soon as possible after the tooth is extracted. This significantly reduces the amount of jawbone resorption that will occur. The location of the tooth may also influence the quality of bone that is available, as the jaw tends to erode more quickly toward the rear of the upper jaw, where the bone is thinner.
Nonetheless, not all patients will be able to get a dental implant before bone loss occurs.
Where bone has already been lost, we have the ability to place natural or artificial bone in order to augment or enhance the jawbone. During such a bone graft procedure, we take bone from elsewhere in the body, such as the chin or hip, or from some other donor source, and place it at the implant site to increase the amount of bone available to the implant.
If you are facing an extraction and planning to get an implant to replace your missing tooth, ask us about the steps we can take to preserve your ridge or supplement the bone to improve your chances of good outcomes.
