Question:

Why do I need a bone graft in the area of the tooth that needs to be extracted?

Answer:

There are cases where a bone graft is not very necessary, and instances where doing a bone graft after an extraction is very important. Here are some examples:
When you extract a wisdom tooth or a second molar and you don’t have plans to replace the extracted tooth with an implant, there is no reason to do a bone graft.
If however, you are having
1- A front tooth removed
2- Are planning to put an implant after healing occurs
3- Have lost bone because of trauma or infection
4- Or have just enough bone to place an implant but cannot afford to loose any more.

Then it is very important that you graft the extraction site at the time the tooth is removed.
Without a graft, the bone around the extracted tooth immediately starts to remodel and shrink.  This may leave the area with not enough bone to place an implant, or with deficient gum tissue that would look unatractive in an esthetic area.
In any of the three examples mentioned above, loosing bone due to the normal remodeling that happens after an extraction, can make the difference between an excellent outcome or results that are less than adequate and more prone to complications if you have to place an implant where there is inadequate bone height or width.

There are more reasons why a bone graft after an extraction is recommended.
The graft does increase the total cost of the procedure, but when indicated, it is well worth it.

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