Evaluation of Healing at Molar Extraction Sites With and Without Ridge Preservation

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients will be included in this study if they qualify the following inclusion criteria: * One molar tooth that has been identified by dental faculty as requiring a single tooth extraction * A dental implant is indicated and treatment planned to replace the missing molar tooth * Have adequate restorative space for a dental implant-retained restoration * Have at least 10mm of alveolar bone height, without impinging on the maxillary sinus or inferior alveolar canal. Exclusion Criteria: * Obvious exclusions are patients who do not meet all the inclusion criteria or who will not cooperate with the follow-up schedule. * Patients will not be entered who are mentally incompetent, prisoners, or pregnant. * Pregnant women or women intending to become pregnant during the study period. As standard practice prior to dental surgery, females of child-bearing age are asked verbally if there is any possibility that they are pregnant. If not, we proceed with surgery and no pregnancy test is done. If the woman states that there is a possibility that she is pregnant, we do a urine pregnancy test to rule pregnancy in or out. So use of the urine pregnancy test is only done if she says she may be pregnant. \[If needed: An over-the-counter urine pregnancy test will be provided to female subjects in the graduate periodontics clinic of UTHSCSA. Patients will be allowed access to a private restroom and the results of the tests will be read by one of the named investi…