With patients that have a tooth extracted and plan to get a dental implant down the line, a bone graft is usually necessary in order to preserve the bone or harbor the bone in the area. If we don’t place the bone graft, there’s a high chance that the bone will resorb and all that bone that was there before from where the tooth was is not going to be there anymore. So once you take the tooth out of the socket, it tends to shrink because nothing’s there anymore and it’s going to follow the pattern of where the missing tooth is.
But if we place that bone graft in place of where the tooth went missing, it can’t shrink because the bone graft is there protecting the area and preserving that ridge, making it, ensuring a proper place for the dental implant down the line so that when you choose to do it, whether it’s because of timing, finances, whatever it is, at least that area and that socket is ready and it’s preserved and it’s ensuring you that you’ll be able to get a dental implant down the line.
