If you are considering tooth removal or dental implants, then you will want to be sure to use an experienced dental surgeon such as Dr. Booth who will ensure you preserve as much underlying jawbone as possible.
What Happens to Jaw Bone When a Tooth is Removed?
When you have a tooth extracted, for whatever reason, an unpredictable and fairly significant amount of bone loss takes place in your jaw. Bone loss is a natural response by your body, so it is very important that you minimize the rapid shrinking that takes place right after tooth removal with bone grafting ridge preservation.
Dr. Booth will use a bone graft that will be placed inside of the socket of the removed tooth. This bone graft produces little to no discomfort for the patient. The advantage to the ridge preservation bone graft at the time of the tooth removal is it prevents major bone grafting later on.
Three Important Bone Grafting Considerations
- Alveolar bone, the bone surrounding your teeth, exists solely to support your teeth and therefore rapidly deteriorates after a tooth is removed unless a bone graft is used to “secure” the tooth socket.
- Dental implants are a great way to replace teeth as they offer root-shaped supports that securely hold your new tooth. Many patients find this type of solution preferable to other options such as a “fixed bridge.”
- In addition to dental implants and fixed bridges, partial or full dentures can be used. Dentures perform best when there is more supporting bone to use, so your best bet is to secure a consultation with Dr. Booth to assess your options.
Preserving Jaw Bone with Your Procedure
Dr. Booth specializes in tooth removal, jawbone preservation, dentures and dental implant placement. Using the most up-to-date methods, Dr. Booth helps patients prevent collapse of the tooth socket and jaw bone loss by using the best practices of tooth replacement for your situation.
