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A healthy jawbone provides the foundation for your teeth and can also provide the support needed for dental implants. After tooth loss, however, the bone surrounding the missing tooth can gradually become narrower or shorter. When there is not enough bone in the dental ridge for the planned implant, ridge augmentation may be considered.
Ridge augmentation is a type of bone grafting procedure designed to rebuild deficient areas of the jaw. At Santiago Oaks Oral Surgery, Dr. Beau McKenzie Soares, DDS provides reconstructive oral surgery in Orange, CA for patients who may need additional bone before dental implant treatment.
Ridge augmentation is a surgical procedure used to increase the width, height, or overall volume of a deficient portion of the jawbone.
The area of bone that supports the teeth is known as the alveolar ridge. When a tooth is lost or extracted, this ridge can change shape over time.
If the ridge becomes too narrow or lacks sufficient height, there may not be enough bone to position a dental implant as planned.
Ridge augmentation adds grafting material to the deficient area to help rebuild the ridge.
Tooth loss is one of the major reasons the supporting ridge can lose volume. After a tooth is removed, the bone that once surrounded its root is no longer exposed to the same functional stimulation.
The shape of the ridge can therefore change during the healing process.
The extent of this change varies between individuals. Factors such as infection, trauma, the original condition of the tooth, and the anatomy of the site can influence the amount of bone that remains.
AAOMS notes that tooth loss or extraction can result in changes to the surrounding bone and that preserving or rebuilding this bone can be important for future dental treatment.
Ridge augmentation may be considered when imaging shows that the existing bone does not provide adequate dimensions for the planned treatment.
Possible situations include:
Not every patient with a missing tooth requires ridge augmentation.
Dental implants require sufficient surrounding bone for stability.
If the ridge is deficient, placing an implant without correcting the underlying problem may not provide the desired foundation.
Ridge augmentation can therefore be incorporated into an implant treatment plan when additional bone volume is needed.
In some cases, the graft is performed first and allowed to heal before the implant is placed. In other situations, grafting may be combined with implant placement when the existing bone provides enough support for the implant.
The appropriate approach depends on the anatomy and treatment requirements of the individual patient.
The details of a ridge augmentation procedure vary depending on the location and extent of the bone deficiency.
The surgical area is accessed and prepared before grafting material is placed in the deficient portion of the ridge.
The graft may be protected with a membrane or other barrier when appropriate. The tissue is then repositioned and closed so the area can heal.
Over time, the grafted area develops new bone and becomes part of the reconstructed ridge.
There is no single graft material that is appropriate for every patient.
Depending on the procedure, grafting materials can include:
The material selected depends on the surgical site, the amount of reconstruction required, the patient’s individual circumstances, and the surgeon’s treatment plan.
There are two different timelines to consider: initial recovery and bone maturation.
The gum tissue may begin healing within days, but the grafted bone requires substantially more time to mature.
The amount of time before implant placement depends on factors such as the size of the graft, the location of the ridge, the patient’s healing response, and the stability of the reconstructed area.
Your oral surgeon will explain the expected sequence during your consultation.
Planning is an important part of ridge augmentation.
Dental imaging allows the surgeon to assess the available bone and evaluate nearby anatomical structures. For implant-related treatment, three-dimensional imaging may provide useful information about the width and height of the ridge.
This information helps determine whether the patient needs horizontal augmentation, vertical augmentation, or another bone-grafting approach.
After surgery, you will receive individualized instructions for protecting the graft while it heals.
Follow-up appointments are important because the surgical team needs to monitor the healing process before proceeding with the next stage.
Patients should follow their postoperative instructions carefully and contact the office if they experience symptoms that concern them.
If you have been told that you do not have enough bone for a dental implant, ridge augmentation may be one of the procedures considered during treatment planning.
Santiago Oaks Oral Surgery provides bone grafting and implant-related surgical care in Orange, CA. Dr. Beau McKenzie Soares, DDS can evaluate the condition of your jaw and discuss whether ridge augmentation or another bone reconstruction procedure may be appropriate.
Request a consultation with Santiago Oaks Oral Surgery to learn whether ridge augmentation may be part of your dental implant treatment plan.
