Ridge Augmentation
Port Angeles, WA
Ridge Augmentation provided by Stephen J. Turella, DMD
in Port Angeles, WA at Turella Oral Surgery
 When you think about having a nice smile, most likely the first thing that comes to your mind is straight, white teeth.
There is much more to a nice smile than just the way that the teeth look. All of the parts of your mouth need to look nice for your smile to look its best. If you have a tooth extracted, it could affect how your jawline looks. That is where ridge augmentation comes in.
Here at Turella Oral Surgery, we want to make sure that your smile looks great and your mouth is healthy. That is why we will often perform ridge augmentation after we have extracted a tooth.
What Is Ridge Augmentation?
When a tooth is extracted, it will leave a gap in your teeth. It will also leave a hole in your jaw where the root of the tooth used to be. That is what ridge augmentation is all about.
When a tooth is extracted, or when a tooth is missing, you will also immediately start to lose bone in your jaw where the tooth used to be. This is known resorption. With ridge augmentation, we will fill in the hole in your jaw to slow down the resorption process. We will use bone or possibly another material to fill the hole.
Ridge Augmentation and Dental Implants
Ridge augmentation is often part of the process if we plan to replace an extracted tooth with a dental implant. This is because there needs to be enough bone in your jaw for the implant to hold.
Often we will perform the ridge augmentation during the same visit as the tooth extraction. This is the first step to making sure that your jaw will have enough bone in it so that the implant will hold and will be successful. There is a chance we may utilize platelet rich plasma in this procedure as well.
Other Reasons for Ridge Augmentation
There are also other reasons why we might perform a ridge augmentation, even if you are not going to receive a dental implant. If there is a hole in your jaw where the tooth used to be, it will affect your other teeth. It could cause them to shift, which would throw off your bite. It could even cause more teeth to become loose. Ridge augmentation will help the other teeth to stay in place.
Dry socket is a common problem after a tooth extraction. This is when the blood clot over the hole comes off and exposes the nerve. With a ridge augmentation, this painful conditional will not happen.
Not every extraction will include a ridge augmentation, but many will. Here at Turella Oral Surgery, we would like to talk to you about all of your possibilities. If you have a question, call us at (360) 912-8244. We would be happy to explain ridge augmentation, tooth extractions, and even dental implants to you.
We would like to answer all of your questions as well. We are dedicated to your good oral health, and we would like to make sure that you have a smile that you are proud to show off, so call us today.
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