Thousands of teeth are extracted annually, in the United States alone, primarily because of decay, severe periodontal disease, infection, or trauma. The jaw bone that supports the teeth, “alveolar bone”, which is generally soft and vascular, often melts away or resorbs following tooth removal. Such bone resorption can result in significant cosmetic or functional defects, including loss of surrounding gum tissue. Today, however, bio-engineering has led to simple but effective surgical techniques that can either totally prevent or greatly reduce the bone and soft tissue loss that normally occurs following tooth extraction
Tooth extraction is one of the most common dental procedures. Healing of the resulting extraction socket normally occurs uneventfully. However, even with completely normal healing, there is often some resorption or melting away of surrounding bone. Resulting in less height and width than were present prior to tooth extraction. In addition, as bone is lost, overlying gum tissue also tends to lose both volume and its normal anatomic form. These changes can occur anywhere in the mouth but the most severe loss of bone and gum tissue tends to occur following the removal of incisor teeth located in the front of the mouth.
The Importance of Bone Preservation
Loss of bone and gum tissue following tooth extraction often results in both functional and cosmetic defects. Such tissue loss often results in an unsightly collapsed appearance, especially in the front of the mouth where proper maintenance of tissue health is critical to normal esthetics. In addition, loss of bone and gum tissue often compromises the dentist’s ability to adequately replace the missing tooth or teeth with either conventional removable or fixed bridgework or with a dental implant supported restoration. Sometimes the loss of bone is so severe that additional surgical procedures are required prior to replacing missing teeth.
Bio-Oss® and Dental Implants
Dental implants can be used in conjunction with the Bio-Oss® bone and gum tissue preservation technique. Depending upon the condition of the remaining extraction socket, an implant may be placed immediately into the extraction socket following tooth removal or may be place three or four months later. Bio-Oss® graft material helps support bone growth needed to stabilize the dental implant, while at the same time helping to preserve the surrounding bone and gum tissue. Bio-Oss® is one of the grafting products that is sometimes used in conjunction with dental implant placement at Pi Dental Center.
What is Bio-Oss?
Bio-Oss is a safe, effective bone graft material. Under the electron microscope, Bio-Oss looks very similar to human bone and is highly successful in helping new bone to form. Bio-Oss acts as a framework onto which bone forming cells and blood vessels travel along the Bio-Oss framework, healthy new bone is formed and the defect is repaired. It is prepared from specially processed bovine sources. Every batch of Bio-Oss goes through highly controlled processing and sterilization procedures which remove all impurities. At the end of this procedure, every batch of Bio-Oss must pass rigorous sterility and purity tests, assuring total safety of the materials.
Bio-Oss is produced by Osteohealth Co (A Division of Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) One Luitpold Drive, Shirley, NY 11967 1-800-874-2334
