Membranes could be described as a “film/foilâ€, that separates two types of tissue that grow at different rates. In this particular case it separates the gum from the bone, so that the slowly growing bone has enough time to fill up the space before the gum has occupied it.
There are two main types.
We differentiate between resorbable, that means it dissolves, and non resorbable membranes.
The resorbable membranes are generally used with the closed surgical technique, i.e. the area is completely covered by mucosa. For this we like to use Bioguide as plastic workable membrane and Attrisorb as flowable-geltype membrane.
The non resorbable membranes are generally used with the open surgical techniques. The suitable membrane for this is Cytoplast, They are commonly used with the so called socket preservation technique (the build-up of the alveolus/socket after tooth extraction). The disadvantage is that the membrane has to be removed in a second surgical procedure.
How do such membranes stay in place?
Often these membranes have to be fixed in place. Titanium pins are used for this. Unfortunately these will have to be removed again in a second surgical procedure, but they are excellent in their retention.