BONE GRAFTING

Bone grafts can build-up or fill in jawbone defects allowing the secure and lasting placement of dental implants. These techniques represent one of the greatest advances in modern dentistry and are nothing short of a miracle for those needing bone replacement. There are generally four types of bone grafts used:

Autografts

This is where the bone to be grafted to the jaw is taken, or harvested, from the patient’s own body. The area where the bone is harvested from is usually the mouth or the hip. This is your own bone and is very compatible with your body, making autografts the best graft technique with the greatest regeneration of missing jawbone.

Allografts

This is where the bone to be grafted to the jaw is taken from human donors. Bone obtained in this manner undergoes rigorous tests and sterilization. Your body "converts" the donor bone into your natural bone, thereby rebuilding your resorbed jawbone.

Xenografts

This is where the bone to be grafted to the jaw is harvested from animals. The animal bone, most commonly bovine (cow), is specially processed to make it biocompatible and sterile. It acts like a "filler" which your body will replace with natural bone.

Alloplastic Grafts

This is where the material to be grafted to the jaw is an inert, man-made synthetic material. For bone replacement, a man-made material that mimics natural bone is used, often a form of calcium phosphate. Depending on how it is made, it may be "resorbable" or "non-resorbable". That is, your body may or may not replace the alloplastic graft with your natural bone. In cases where it is not replaced it acts as a “scaffold” upon which natural bone is grown.