Ridge Augmentation /Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR)

When a tooth has been missing for a long time, the jaw bone starts to atrophy and may be thinner than it was before. When the jaw bone is thin it makes placement of a dental implant(s) difficult because they require a certain thickness of bone to be successful. Ridge augmentation is a type of bone grafting procedure that increases the thickness and volume of the jaw bone to allow for dental implant placement. This procedure uses a bone graft to build up the jaw bone and then uses a resorbable or non-resorbable artificial membranes to keep fast growing soft tissue out and maintain space for the bone graft to grow. After a period of healing, the bone will form allowing for the placement of a dental implant.