Socket Preservation and Dental Implant Success

Reviewed by Dr. Benjamin Foley, DDS

Reading time: five minutes.

When you lose a tooth, it’s easy to focus on the gap left behind and how it affects your smile. But there’s something more important happening beneath the surface: your jaw bone healing. 

Without a tooth root to keep it stimulated, the bone begins to shrink—a process called bone resorption. Fortunately, you can prevent bone loss, save your smile and improve the success of dental implants with a procedure called socket preservation.

In this blog, we will explain why socket preservation is important for dental implant success and how it works to maintain a strong foundation for your future smile.

Table of Contents

• Why Socket Preservation Is Needed
• What Is Socket Preservation?
• When Is Socket Preservation Recommended?
• The Socket Preservation Procedure: Step-by-Step
• After the Socket Preservation Procedure: Healing and Follow-up
• Benefits of Socket Preservation for Dental Implants
• Trust Our Oral Surgeons in Boulder, CO

Why Socket Preservation Is Needed

When a tooth is extracted, the socket left behind can experience bone loss, particularly in the first few weeks after the removal. If left untreated, this loss can make it difficult—or even impossible—for a dental implant to be placed later on.

Here’s what you should know:

• Bone loss after tooth extraction can reduce the width and height of the alveolar bone (jawbone), affecting your ability to receive a dental implant.
• Preservation helps maintain bone volume, which is important for the stability of an implant.
• Without preservation, your jawbone will deteriorate to the point where additional procedures like bone grafting or ridge augmentation are needed before an implant can be placed. If done secondarily, bone grafting is more costly, painful and less predictable than doing socket preservation at the time of tooth extraction.

What Is Socket Preservation?

Socket preservation is a surgical procedure that helps prevent bone loss after a tooth extraction. During the extraction, your dentist or oral surgeon places a bone graft material into the empty tooth socket to encourage new bone growth.

Materials used in socket preservation:

• Bone grafting material: Could include human bone, bovine bone, or synthetic materials.
• Barrier membranes: These are used to protect the graft and support the healing process by keeping soft tissue out of the extraction socket.
• Collagen plug: Sometimes used to help form a blood clot and aid in healing.
• L-PRF (Leukocyte-Platelet Rich Fibrin) membrane: These are cells taken from your own blood that helps the extraction site and bone graft heal.

When Is Socket Preservation Recommended?

If you’re planning for a dental implant in the future, socket preservation should be done at the time of extraction. This will save you from additional procedures later and ensure you’re ready for implant placement when the time comes.

The Socket Preservation Procedure: Step-by-Step

Socket preservation is often done immediately after a tooth extraction to prevent bone resorption. Here’s how the procedure typically works:

1. Tooth extraction: The affected tooth is carefully removed, often using an atraumatic extraction technique to minimize damage to the surrounding bone.
2. Cleaning the socket: Once the tooth is out, your surgeon will clean the socket to remove any remaining tissue or infection.
3. Placing the bone graft: A socket preservation bone graft—whether it’s human bone, synthetic, or another material—is placed into the empty tooth socket.
4. Using a barrier membrane: Your surgeon may apply a barrier membrane, which could be resorbable or nonresorbable, to protect the graft.
5. Suturing the site: Finally, the area is closed with stitches to ensure proper healing.

After the Socket Preservation Procedure: Healing and Follow-up

The healing period after a preservation procedure typically lasts a few weeks to several months, depending on the type of graft material used and your body’s ability to heal. During this time, the bone graft encourages bone formation and growth, filling in the gap left by the missing tooth.

Key points:

• Healing time: Expect several months of healing before an implant can be placed.
• Follow-up appointments: Your surgeon will monitor the healing process to check the progress of bone formation.
• Aftercare tips: Follow your surgeon’s surgical instructions carefully. These will include things such as avoiding strenuous activities, eating a soft food diet, pain management, etc. 

Benefits of Socket Preservation for Dental Implants

Socket preservation offers several benefits when it comes to dental implant success:

• Prevents bone loss: By filling the socket immediately after extraction, preservation helps maintain the volume of the alveolar ridge, which is essential for implant placement.
• Creates a stable foundation: A solid base of bone ensures that your dental implant has something to anchor to, leading to better long-term stability.
• Avoids additional procedures: By preserving the bone early, you may avoid more invasive procedures like bone grafting or ridge augmentation in the future.
• Supports facial structure: Socket preservation also prevents the collapse of the facial bone wall, which can change your facial appearance.
• Improves implant success rate: Clinical studies show that socket preservation improves the success rate of dental implants by maintaining the bone necessary for long-term implant stability.
• Other benefits: Socket preservation typically decreases bleeding and pain following surgery as well.

Trust Our Oral Surgeons in Boulder, CO

We believe in the power of modern dentistry to restore both function and beauty to your smile. Our experienced oral surgeons Dr. Foley and Dr. Le can help you achieve the ideal foundation for your future dental implants with socket preservation.

If you’re planning for a dental implant or have questions about your oral health, we’re here to help. Schedule a consultation today to learn more by calling (303) 444-2255 or complete the online inquiry form! If you are in Colorado and would like to visit our oral surgeons office in Boulder, stop in and say hello—we are located at 1420 28th St, Unit 100 Boulder CO.