Bone and Tissue Augmentation Services

When a tooth is lost, the gum and the bone surrounding it are also lost, sometimes very rapidly. By the time the site of an extraction has healed, over half of the bone volume originally holding the tooth may have gone with it.

Consequently, placement of dental implants must often be accompanied by augmentation to increase the volume and shape of the remaining bone and gum to replace what has been lost.

This can be done at the same time as implant placement, or, if the extent of bone loss is greater, must be done as a separate procedure.

We would normally use deproteinised bovine xenograft (BioOss®) together with a porcine collagen membrane (BioGide®) to augment bone volume.

The patient's own tissue can be taken from the palatae to augment gum bulk and toughness when it is deficient. We lso use a product known as MucoGraft to acheive this.

Occasionally, the patient's own bone is taken from the region of the lower wisdom teeth to be fixed where bone is deficient to provide a solid platform of bone for future implants.

Importance of careful extractions when teeth are to be lost

To reduce the need for future bone and gum augmentation, the way in which teeth are removed when they need to be lost are carried out meticulously and delicately to ensure that as much of the bone and soft tissue as possible remains to support future implants. Where possible, it is common for me to place an implant directly into the site of an extraction on the same day to maximise stability of the existing anatomy around the tooth.