Socket Preservation and Ridge Augmentation

Your jawbone supports the middle and lower part of your face. The roots of teeth, supports a large portion of the jawbone. The bone that surrounds the roots of the tooth is often referred to as the “socket”.

To prepare for your dental implants and encourage them to fuse with your jawbone, Dr. Tsiokos recommends socket preservation and ridge augmentation to prevent bone resorption and create the best possible anchor for your new teeth.

How to Preserve the Socket

Your teeth sit in the boney socket which stabilize your teeth when you chew. When a tooth has been lost or extracted, this part of the jaw loses its function and within two months about 30-50% of the socket is resorbed. Socket preservation helps maintain the shape of your jaw by filling the socket with bone graft material to take the place of your tooth root. This technique retains the shape of your jawbone and presents resorption from occurring.

What Is Ridge Augmentation?

Ridge augmentation is an advanced bone graft technique using various materials to reconstruct a larger section of jawbone which has lost its form and function. During this procedure, Dr. Tsiokos will regenerate the jawbone to enable future implant placement.

Why Are Ridge Augmentation and Socket Preservation Important?

Ridge augmentation and socket preservation are important to create the dimension of bone to house future implants. Without ridge augmentation or socket preservation you will likely experience:

·         Unnatural looking indentations in your gums and jaw.

·         Problems recapturing the original appearance of your mouth.

·         Bone resorption that requires more extensive bone grafting if you want dental implants in the future.

As a skilled periodontist and dental implant specialist, Dr. Tsiokos has over fifteen years of experience performing these techniques on a daily basis