Atraumatic Extraction & Bone Graft
Traditional vs. Atraumatic extraction
Traditional extraction involves removal of bone surrounding the tooth, leaving a flat, collapsed ridge, unqualified for a future implant, requires extensive bone graft prior to implant placement.
Atraumatic extraction conserves bone and the alveolar ridge that surrounds the tooth. At Softouch Dental, Dr. Nguyen performs atraumatic extraction using a special instrument to preserve bone, then add synthetic bone to prevent ridge collapsing.
Socket Preservation
Socket Preservation is bone graft at the time of the extraction. This will prevent bone collapsing which makes it more challenge to add bone later. It is considered standard of care for any dentist to inform the patients about this procedure prior to extraction since it is much more difficult and it costs more to do bone graft several months later after the tooth is extracted.
Socket Preservation is an indispensable procedure, the all-important, fundamental "must have" to bone loss prevention following tooth extraction! Jawbones have the crucial function of propping up gum tissue and holding onto teeth to keep one’s smile looking beautiful and natural. After the tooth is removed, jaw bones have to be preserved to keep sockets in shape. Preservation as the name has it is the maintenance of the socket, which is essentially the height and width of the gap that is left after the tooth is removed.
Saving the bone thus allows for tooth restoration work to be done successfully. Without sufficient bone quantity and quality, prosthetic dentistry that include Dental Implants, Fixed Bridges and Dentures do not have a solid foundation to anchor on. And what turns out may not only be a dent in the wallet for nothing more than an ugly misfit of false replacements hanging above receding gums!
Bone Grafting
The most common reason for being un-qualified for implant placement is lack of bone.
A bone graft is a surgical procedure that replaces missing bone with material from the patient's own body or an artificial, synthetic, or natural substitute.
The graft not only replaces missing bone but also helps your body to regenerate its own bone. This new bone growth strengthens the grafted area by forming a bridge between your existing bone and the graft material. This bone loss can be reversed. Over time your own newly formed bone will replace much of the grafted material.
Over a period of time, the jawbone associated with missing teeth atrophies or is reabsorbed. This often leaves a condition in which there are poor quality and quantity of bone suitable for placement of dental implants. In these situations, most patients are not candidates for placement of dental implants.
We now have the ability to grow bone where needed. This gives us the opportunity to place implants of proper length and width, and it also gives us a chance to more effectively restore esthetic appearance and functionality.
The best time to have a bone graft is at the time of the extraction.
The extraction site will heal much faster and there will be less pain after extraction
