Preserving Your Jaw Bone After Dental Extraction
After tooth extraction (for reasons of pain, infection or unprocessable decay), the alveolar bone (surrounding the extracted tooth) tends to reabsorb during the healing process. This is a normal phenomenon, due to bone turnover and inflammation caused by extraction. This leads to bone loss that can directly affect the ability to restore your dentition with an implant.
Indeed, if the bone volume is insufficient, the placement of an implant and its stability can be greatly compromised.
The technique of preserving the alveolus consists in inserting bio-materials (Bio-Oss, e.g.) or autologous bone (yours) directly into the extraction site, if the site is sufficiently healthy (i.e. if there is no active infection).
The alveolus is then covered with a membrane and the gum is closed in a watertight manner, allowing the bone to heal while preserving a maximum volume.
This technique can be applied anywhere on your jaw, but is particularly suitable for the extraction of the anterior teeth.