Ridge Expansion

Ridge expansion is a dental procedure used to widen the jawbone when it is too narrow to support a dental implant. The ridge bone is a special type of bone surrounding and supporting your teeth. When a tooth is removed, this bone begins to deteriorate, losing density due to age, disease, or the natural breakdown of the bone. This atrophy can happen in two dimensions: loss of horizontal width and loss of vertical height. Both types of bone loss can make it difficult to securely place dental implants.

Ridge expansion addresses these issues by dividing the ridge bone and wedging apart the inner and outer segments to create a space. This space is then filled with bone graft material to add both height and width, creating a stable foundation for implants. Special surgical tools called osteotomes are commonly used to perform this procedure, as they compact and expand the bone laterally.

By creating a strong and stable bone structure, after the ridge expansion treatment has healed, dental implants can then be placed.

‍