Bone Regeneration and Ridge Augmentation

If you have gum disease and have been diagnosed with loss of bone as well, bone regeneration may be a good option to restore the health and function of your smile. Bone regeneration is a surgical procedure that regrows jaw bone and tissue in order to correct the damage caused by periodontal disease.

Bone regeneration is often performed to protect your existing teeth and the soft tissues that keep them in place so you can experience an enhanced quality of life as a direct result of improved health, function, and appearance.

The treatment can also benefit patients with missing teeth or who don’t qualify for dental implants. Dental implants require a significant amount of jawbone prior to the procedure in order to be successful. Bone regeneration can help patients who suffer from a deteriorated jawbone to support their restorations or prepare for an implant dentistry procedure.

The Bone Regeneration Procedure

During this procedure, Dr. Andreou will place a biocompatible membrane between the gum and bone, which acts as a barrier. This barrier prevents downgrowth of the gum into the underlying bone as it heals.

In some cases, a bone graft or tissue-stimulating proteins may be placed under the membrane to encourage your body’s natural ability to regenerate bone and tissue. Membranes around teeth are typically designed to dissolve away or reabsorb after a few weeks.

Many options can enhance support for your teeth and restore your bone to a healthy level. During your treatment plan appointment, we will review all the options with you that can help you regain your periodontal health.

Ridge Augmentation

A common use of bone grafting is for ridge augmentation. Ridge augmentation can recapture the natural contour of your gums and jaw after the loss of a tooth as a result of trauma, congenital anomalies, infection, teeth missing for a long time, or periodontal disease. Achieving an ideal amount of gum and bone as a support to surrounding restorations or implants may require hard- and soft-tissue reconstruction.

After the loss of one or more teeth, your gums and jawbone may shrink where the tooth or teeth used to be. This occurs because the jawbone recedes when it no longer is holding a tooth in place.

Not only is this reduction in jaw bone unnatural looking, it also causes the replacement tooth to look too long or too small compared to the adjacent teeth, and this can create an area that is difficult to keep clean.

Ridge augmentation uses bone and tissue-grafting procedures to fill in the deficient area of the jaw and gums, which leaves you with an improved gum line that coexists with your restoration or dental implant.