Extraction Socket Preservation
After a tooth extraction, whether a wisdom tooth removal or a severely decayed tooth or gum problem that involved a tooth, there will be a hole left behind in the space your tooth once occupied. The empty tooth socket can be very sensitive at first and healing can take a long time which is why your 360 (degree sign) dentist will recommend socket preservation at the same time as extraction. Protecting your socket is very important for a few reasons.
- Prevents immediate bone resorption after extraction.
- Prevents dry socket- non-healing open wound.
- Reduces or eliminates the need for ridge augmentation before implant.
- Improved facial profile and soft tissue aesthetic.
After extraction, without socket preservation to keep the socket in its original shape, the bone will resorb/disappear resulting in 30-60% loss in bone volume within 6 months. The jaw bone cannot revert to its original shape once bone is lost and tissue contours change.
This is because human bone reduces the bone volume if the area is not in use or insufficiently used with daily stress. This means your body will not reproduce enough bone in the empty space once the tooth is removed, affecting your facial profile especially if the gap is toward the front of your face. It will make later crown/bridge and implant procedures harder, or not as aesthetic.
Sometimes dry socket may happen after extraction. This is when the blood clot that protects the healing area is knocked loose, exposing the sensitive bone to the environment which is very painful.
Socket preservation is important to prevent any of the above from happening.
What is socket preservation?
Socket preservation is a procedure to reduce bone loss, preserve alveolar bone after extraction and reduce healing time. 360 (degree sign) Dental Care offers the most advanced way of socket preservation with concentrated growth factor (CGF) technology.
CGF preparation involves taking a small amount of our patient’s venous blood, which is then processed with altered centrifugation to produce much larger, denser and richer fibrin matrix releasing several growth factors together with fabricated growth factor-enriched bone graft matrix (sticky bone). We use both of these for your extraction socket.
CGF with sticky bone provides stabilization of bone graft in the defect and therefore accelerates healing and reduces bone loss during the healing period.