Posts Tagged ‘preserve your bone’

How to Preserve Your Bone after Tooth Loss or Extraction

Posted on: June 13th, 2018 by freshadmin No Comments

A serious concern of people that have lost a tooth, or had to have one extracted, is how to preserve the bone. It is well-known by now that after an extraction or tooth loss, one also experiences facial bone loss, with devastating, complex consequences that affect several aspects of their life. It is a significant issue that is not given the proper attention for various reasons that belong to another discussion.

In traditional dentistry, the replacement of the missing tooth focused on restoring the missing tooth with bridges or dentures. However, this was an approach that did not include or address the bone loss, which would mathematically occur in the future. Fortunately, modern dentists have options that help preserve the bone after a lost tooth, such as Socket Grafting.

What Happens Inside the Mouth After Tooth Loss?

It is a way to preserve the bone after extractions. Allow us to explain a few basics, so you get a better idea of what we are talking about here…

When you lose a tooth, the bone around it (the socket) starts to deplete, in both height and width. After the tooth is removed, most patients fall under one of the following 2 categories: (1) have a dental implant within the first 6-8 weeks after tooth loss or extraction, or (2) place an implant much later, which could be more than 6 months to a year after tooth loss.

At this point, it is imperative to understand that the sooner we replace the missing tooth/teeth, the better we help preserve the bone around that area. Delaying placing an implant allows the bone to shrink. This means patients that postpone the placement of an implant run the risk of requiring a bit of bone grafting, when their implant is finally placed. This, of course, adds to the cost.

Introducing Socket Grafting

So, if you want a dental implant in the future (let’s say 1-2 years down the line), then you may want to consider Socket Grafting (or Ridge Preservation), a procedure we, at Same Day Teeth Suite offer. In short, Socket Grafting is a procedure that allows the dentist to graft artificial bone into the socket, straight after the extraction. With Socket Grafting, we are able to maintain a good volume of bone for quite a while, before we place a dental implant there.
With a simple procedure such as this, you can maintain a good bone volume and have an implant 6-12 months after you have lost a tooth. It is definitely a money saving technique that prevents major grafting in the future, ideal for patients that do not want to or can’t have a dental implant right away.

If you have similar concerns, don’t hesitate at all. Contact us or call us on 01509 323420 and let’s book your first appointment with no financial commitments whatsoever. To us, your oral health and to have every reason to smile after you leave our clinics is our biggest reward!