Extraction Site Grafting for future implants

Many times like I stated in my last blog, we have to take a tooth out and choose to have a implant placed. This is the best way to go in a lot of cases especially now that implants are so successful. Years ago when we took a tooth out we did not put something back in the hole, we let it heal by secondary intention. Now we see that the ridge has a horse saddle appearance due to lack of bone and the way the area healed after the tooth was extracted. If we do want to place a implant you want to graft the extraction site with more bone as to allow the area to heal all the way to the top. You will have only a minimal dip and this will allow you to have better implant placement. You are placing the implant in a flat surface instead of a saddled looking surface which the later will not allow you to make a cosmetic crown. It will make the new implant better periodontally as well. You will be able to clean around your implant as well. I have been doing this procedure since the early 1990's and with great result. You can use your own bone or a synthetic which your body resorbs and lays down its own to fill the extraction site to the top. The synthetic bone acts like a scaffold for your own bone to follow.
So all in all when doing a extraction where you are going to place a implant in 4 months you will get a better result with your implant in the end by grafting the site with bone.