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Alveolar Ridge Preservation (ARP) in the Posterior Maxilla After the Extraction of Maxillary Molars

Dental implants are a fixed replacement solution with reported long-term survival rates between 94-98% over 20-40 years. In order to ensure successful implant therapy, adequate bone and soft tissue as well as correct 3D positioning of the implant are required. Upon extraction of a tooth, socket width can decrease by up to 60% within six months post-extraction, with a 11-22% vertical reduction. Additionally, sinus pneumatization occurs post-extraction as the maxillary sinus expands into the empty socket due to disuse atrophy and intra-sinus air pressure, as explained by Wolff's law. This further reduces residual bone height (RBH), often resulting in posterior maxillary sites requiring supplemental procedures to prevent bone loss or to augment the bone height at the time of implant placement. However, if the bone height and width dimensions are sufficient before and after extraction - in that, even with the aforementioned loss in width and height percentages in the latter, a standard implant may still be placed in the surrounding bone, one can argue that grafting may not be necessarily done at the time of extraction. Rather, it can be tailored to the patients' needs; thus potentially reducing overall post-operative discomfort and pain.