Periodontal Associates of Georgia, PC

Periodontics

Atlanta, GA

404-231-1080 and 404-507-2025

SERVICES

• Treatment Methods
• Prophylaxis (Teeth Cleaning)
• Perioscopic Treatment
• Scaling and Root Planing
• Bite Therapy
• Gum Grafting
• Frenectomy
• Crown Lengthening
• Bone Grafting
  • Overview
  • Socket Preservation
  • Ridge Augmentation
• Osseous Surgery
• Dental Implants
• Guided Bone and Tissue Regeneration
• Sinus Augmentation
• Cosmetic Periodontal Surgery
• Oral Cancer Exam

Ridge Augmentation

What is a Ridge Augmentation?

A ridge augmentation is a common dental procedure often performed following a tooth extraction to help recreate the natural contour of the gums and jaw that may have been lost due to bone loss as a result of a tooth loss.

The alveolar ridge of the jaw is the bone that surrounds the roots of teeth. When a tooth is removed, an empty socket is left in the alveolar ridge bone. Usually this empty socket will heal on its own, filling with bone and tissue, though usually some shrinkage of the bone occurs. Over time this shrinkage often continues leading to the progressive loss of the previous height and width of the socket.

Rebuilding the original height and width of the alveolar ridge is not medically necessary, but may be required for dental implant placement, or for aesthetic purposes. Dental implants require bone to support their structure, and a ridge augmentation can help rebuild this bone to accommodate the implant.

How is the Surgery Accomplished?

If the tooth or teeth were previously lost and their supporting bone has shrunken 3-D imaging will be accomplished to determine safety and feasibility of attempting to gain bone volume in that site. Rebuilding bone on top of a ridge of jaw bone is not predicable but can be successful enough for the site to improve substantially. The exact procedure and its goals will be carefully explained so that you can make a qualified decision. This procedure is most commonly accomplished to render a site suitable for implant placement.  

A procedure that might substantially reduce the shrinkage of the ridge called socket preservation may be appropriate when a tooth is extracted. This is often done immediately after the tooth is removed, to limit the need for or extent of a second procedure later. When the sinus is a consideration for a tooth extraction, socket preservation may allow a more limited approach to adding additional bone to the sinus for implant placement.