Socket Preservation
A surgical procedure performed at the time of tooth extraction in which the alveolar socket is grafted or covered to minimize post-extraction bone resorption.
Full Definition
Following tooth extraction, the alveolar ridge undergoes significant dimensional reduction due to resorption of the bundle bone (cribriform plate). Socket preservation, also called alveolar ridge preservation, involves placing bone graft material, a barrier membrane, or a combination of both into the fresh extraction socket to limit this resorption and maintain ridge volume in preparation for implant placement or prosthetic rehabilitation. Editors should distinguish socket preservation (at time of extraction) from ridge augmentation (a secondary procedure to rebuild already-resorbed ridge). The preferred term in contemporary clinical literature is 'alveolar ridge preservation', though 'socket preservation' remains widely used.
Usage
Usage note: Differentiate from 'ridge augmentation', which reconstructs a previously resorbed ridge, versus socket preservation, which limits resorption at the time of extraction.
In Context
- "Socket preservation with a xenograft and collagen membrane was performed immediately following extraction of the upper left central incisor." — Oral surgery operative report
- "The implant was placed four months after socket preservation, at which point cone beam imaging confirmed adequate bone volume." — Implant case report