Ridge Preservation

Ridge or socket preservation is a dental procedure that’s performed to prevent bone loss after tooth extraction. Usually, after an extraction, it’s common for the jawbone to shrink or narrow through a physiological process known as resorption. Resorption involves the breakdown of bone minerals by osteoclasts.

When to Consider Ridge Preservation

At KK Dental, we recommend ridge preservation to patients who are considering getting dental implants or other dental restorations after a dental extraction. In such cases, ridge preservation guarantees that you’ll have enough bone to support an implant, resulting in better aesthetics and function. Ridge preservation is essential too if you’re looking to get dentures as insufficient bone can lead to loosening of the dentures, thus hindering the effectiveness of the dental restoration. In some cases, socket preservation is used to preserve bone to enable normal eruption of permanent teeth after an extraction.

What Happens During Your Appointment at KK Dental?

Ridge preservation happens immediately after an extraction. Soon after the tooth is removed from its socket, our dentist thoroughly cleans the tooth socket to eliminate all signs of decay or infection. The dentist may further apply antibiotic powder into the socket to prevent further infection. After that, our dentist will fill this socket with a bone substitute, and cover it with a barrier membrane. Our dentist will ask you to return for a subsequent visit after 30 days. During this second visit, the barrier membrane is removed if it hasn’t resorbed already. Removal or resorption of the barrier membrane gives way for the growth of new gum tissue to cover the bone substitute.

Does all this sound a little scary to you? It’s natural to feel anxious or apprehensive about a dental procedure that you’re not familiar with. Rest assured that KK Dental has your well-being at heart, and our dentist will go to great lengths to ensure your comfort during the procedure. Feel free to ask any questions that you may have before the procedure starts—our dentist is more than happy to answer all of them!

Post-Care Tips

Our dentist will issue you with post-care instructions after extraction and ridge preservation procedures. You must follow these instructions to avoid developing an infection. Remember also to return for your follow-up visit, even if you can tell that the barrier membrane has been resorbed. It’s always best if our dentist examines your bone graft for a professional evaluation of your progress.

After ridge preservation, you’ll need adequate time for the bone graft to fuse with your jawbone. Once the healing and fusion are complete, you may begin having the dental restoration conversation with our dentist at KK Dental.