Buccal plate augmentation: a new alternative to socket preservation.

Alveolar ridge resorption occurs after tooth extraction and has the potential to either complicate implant placement or impair the final esthetic result. Techniques to preserve natural bone and soft tissue contours are of great interest to clinicians and patients because even subtle postextraction buccal plate resorption may have significant clinical effects, particularly in the esthetic zone. Buccal plate augmentation (BPA) is a novel approach for ridge preservation aiming to avoid recession of the facial wall of the socket without interfering with the natural healing mechanism of the extraction socket. It consists of placement of bone graft material over an intact buccal plate, underneath the soft tissues in a surgically created pouch with an aim to maintain or augment the soft tissue esthetics of the region.