After a tooth is extracted, a vacant socket is left behind within the alveolar ridge bone (the bone that runs parallel underneath your gums, supporting both arches of teeth). In many cases, the areas self-heal, filling with bone and get covered by soft tissue.
When it does not successfully heal, the alveolar bone will begin to degenerate.
With ridge augmentation, we can reconstruct areas of the jaw, and allow the alveolar ridge to provide stability to prosthesis and enhance the level of the gum line.
Treatment is performed under local anaesthetic.
Socket preservation directly follows a dental extraction, as opposed to ridge augmentation, which is suitable when the bone has already suffered from resorption. It’s a preventive treatment that is extremely worthwhile, protecting your jaw from going through the debilitating changes associated with jawbone recession.