What is socket preservation?

Removal of teeth is sometimes necessary because of a tooth infection, bone loss, or fracturing of a tooth. When the tooth is damaged, the socket that holds the tooth in place can be damaged or infected resulting in deformity or after the tooth is extracted. When teeth are extracted, the bone and gums can shrink or recede, this can affect the way how your lips and cheeks may look. Commonly, grafting material is placed in the socket to fill the void to preserve the tooth socket for future dental procedures you may consider. Alternatively, the tooth socket may be covered with some type of membrane to reduce tissue ingrowth and to encourage bone fill.

Why is a socket preservation recommended?

The chief reason your dentist is concern about the socket around the extracted tooth is because it can create major problems when performing restorative dentistry. When the treatment involves dental implants, bridges, or dentures, the deformities from tooth removal can prevent successful treatment. Jaw deformities from tooth removal can be prevented and repaired by a procedure called socket preservation. Socket preservation is a technique dentist use to preserve the jaw bone after a tooth extraction. Preserving the tooth socket can improve the aesthetic look and success of dental implants.

You may wonder, why does it matter if I don’t have a tooth after an extraction. However, without teeth and bone structure, unwanted issues can occur over time since. As mentioned above, without adequate bone structure and teeth, your cheeks can cave in resulting in an undesirable smile creating an unbalanced and unnatural smile. After a tooth extraction, adjacent teeth around the extracted tooth can start to move to fill the gap. This can cause your teeth to shift over time, affecting your smile and may require orthodontic treatment.

Care after extraction to prevent socket infection

After a tooth extraction, you should keep the area around the socket clean. This will help the area heal and improve comfort. You might want to avoid brushing near the extraction site to prevent irritating the socket as it heals. To improve healing time, you should avoid activity that can create pressure inside your mouth such as smoking and eating hard foods that can irritate the extraction site. Socket preservation is a straightforward procedure, and as long as you take your dentist’s care recommendation, recovery should not be a problem.

If you have questions about socket preservation or need to schedule your next appointment, call California Dental Group at (800) 407-0161.