---
title: "What Is Barrier membrane? Dental Glossary | Town Center Dental"
description: "A barrier membrane is a thin sheet placed over a bone graft or gum defect to keep soft tissue out and give new bone room to grow."
url: https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/barrier-membrane
publisher: Town Center Dental
phone: +1-636-273-5866
quote: https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/request-appointment
---

Materials

# Barrier membrane

A barrier membrane is a thin sheet placed over a bone graft or gum defect to keep soft tissue out and give new bone room to grow.

Gum tissue grows faster than bone. Without a barrier, the gum can grow into a graft site and crowd out the slower bone. A barrier membrane blocks the gum tissue and protects the space under it. A review in the NIH library says barrier membranes prevent soft tissue invasion from the mucosa and create an underlying space to support bone growth. Some membranes are made of collagen and dissolve on their own. Others are non-absorbable and must be taken out later. The dentist chooses by site and by the plan. The membrane is used with [bone graft material](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/bone-graft-material) in [bone grafting](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/bone-grafting) and in [socket preservation](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/socket-preservation-ridge-preservation). See our [bone grafting](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/services/bone-grafting) page.

[Town Center Dental can helpBone Grafting for Dental Implants](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/services/bone-grafting)

## Related terms

-   [Bone graft material](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/bone-graft-material)
-   [Bone grafting](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/bone-grafting)
-   [Socket preservation (ridge preservation)](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/socket-preservation-ridge-preservation)
-   [Dental implant](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/dental-implant)
-   [Gum graft](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/glossary/gum-graft)

## Sources

1.  [NIH PubMed Central: Barrier Membranes for Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR): A Focus on Recent Advances in Collagen Membranes](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9735671/)

## Ready when you are

[Request an appointment](https://towncenterdental.multisites.ai/request-appointment)[Call (636) 273-5866](tel:+1-636-273-5866)