Knife-edge ridge

After a tooth is extracted, the residual alveolar ridge undergoes a remodeling process to repair the initial wound and prepare for long-term healing, or residual ridge resorption (RRR). Residual ridge resorption occurs at markedly different rates for each patient, which can make treatment planning more challenging. Faster bone resorption at the lingual or buccal areas can result in a knife-edge ridge. Faster bone resorption at the crest of the residual bone, on the other hand, results in a more flattened ridge. A knife-edge ridge can be difficult to detect under round gum tissue, but identifying the shape of the residual alveolar bone is essential to the patient’s individual treatment plan. Treatment for a knife-edge ridge may involve removal of the thin bone structure to help the dental implant hardware better adapt at the shoulder level. It’s often difficult to predict which patients will have a knife-edge ridge, but menopause is considered a contributing factor.