When a tooth has been missing for a long time, or was lost due to infection or trauma, the jawbone in that area often loses enough width and height that implant placement isn’t possible without rebuilding it first. Ridge augmentation is the procedure that does that rebuilding.

How ridge augmentation differs from socket preservation: socket preservation happens immediately after an extraction to prevent bone loss from occurring in the first place. Ridge augmentation addresses bone loss that’s already happened, often years after a tooth was lost, and typically requires a more substantial grafting procedure to rebuild the volume needed for a stable implant.

What the procedure involves: bone grafting material is placed along the deficient area of the jaw ridge, often secured with a membrane and sometimes small fixation screws to hold the graft’s shape while it integrates. Over a period of months, your body’s own bone cells grow into and gradually replace the graft material with living, functional bone.

Common reasons ridge augmentation is needed:

• A tooth was lost years ago and never replaced, allowing significant resorption to occur
• Bone loss from periodontal disease affected the ridge before the tooth was ultimately extracted
• Trauma or infection destroyed bone in the area
• A previous denture has been worn for years without implant support, accelerating bone loss underneath it

What to expect for timeline: ridge augmentation generally requires 4 to 6 months of healing before the site is ready for implant placement, sometimes longer for more extensive defects. It’s a real time investment, but it’s what makes implant placement possible in cases that would otherwise be ruled out.

The alternative if augmentation isn’t pursued: removable options like a partial denture, or in some cases wider or more numerous implants placed at an angle to work around the bone deficiency — though these alternatives don’t always deliver the same long-term function and stability as an implant placed into adequately rebuilt bone.

If you’ve been told your bone loss is too significant for an implant, that’s often a starting point rather than a final answer. Our oral surgeons at Falcon Implants & Oral Surgery can evaluate whether ridge augmentation would reopen that option. Schedule a consultation with your imaging in hand, or we’ll take new images at your visit.