Ridge Expansion

In some cases where the teeth have been lost and not replaced for a while the jawbone or bony riwdge atrophies and becomes very thin. Because implants need to be surrounded by healthy bone, it is often necessary to build up or expand the existing bone to provide a good foundation for the dental implants. One technique involves expanding the existing bony ridge to provide the width of bone needed. New technologies have been developed using ultrasonic instrumentation as opposed to drills and saws to very gently and precisely expand the existing bone to a greater volume. Sometimes the implants can be placed at the time of ridge expansion while in other situations the newly expanded bone will need to heal first before implant placement.