A Review on Intraoral Soft Tissue Expanders: A Novel Technique for Tissue Augmentation Prior to Treating Ridge Defects

Abstract

Periodontitis, is a complex infectious disease resulting in destruction of tooth supporting structures, which gradually may result in bone loss. Common complications of ridge augmentation procedures are soft tissue dehiscence and attaining a tension free primary closure after grafting. Soft tissue expanders provide a novel alternative to invasive, tedious methods of soft tissue augmentation by gradually increasing the volume and thickness of soft tissues, before ridge augmentation. This is a short review article on the available soft tissue expanders and their benefits on achieving a proper ridge morphology.