If the bone defect is not too large or if it is inappropriate to use a bone graft it is possible to use a procedure termed guided bone regeneration.
In this we use a combination of biomaterials and some of your own bone taken from around the defect area and build it up. This is then covered with a collagen membrane, which excludes the soft tissue enabling new bone to be formed under the membrane rather than soft tissue.
The membrane slowly reabsorbs over a period of up to two months by which time new bone is forming.
The real advantage of guided bone regeneration is that only one area is involved – no separate donor site is required, and it is frequently possible to use the guided bone regeneration technique at the same time as dental implant placement, but usually a final decision is taken at the time of implant placement itself or after healing of the extraction site.