Periodontal Specialists of Montana P.C.
Periodontics
50 27th Street West Suite D, Billings, MT 59102
406-655-7970
In severe cases, the ridge has been thinned excessively; a bone graft can be placed to increase ridge height and/or width. This is a technique used to restore the lost bone dimension when the jaw ridge gets too thin to place conventional dental implants. In this procedure, the bony ridge of the jaw is literally expanded by mechanical means. Bone graft material can be placed and matured for a few months before placing the implant.
If the tooth extraction site is handled correctly at the time of tooth removal, the need for complex reconstructive therapy such as sinus grafting or ridge expansion can be avoided. In this procedure, a tooth marked for extraction is removed as gently as possible to limit damage to the surrounding bone. The tooth socket is carefully cleaned and washed to remove any loss material; then a bone graft is placed into the socket. The presence of a graft limits the amount of initial bone loss that always happens when a tooth is removed. By managing potential implant sites in this way, unsightly and anatomically compromising bone loss can be limited. Ultimately this approach provides for a better functional and cosmetic outcome for tooth replacement.