FAQ

While your dentist may have a preference to a certain material, your opinion as a consenting patient should also be a consideration. In many cases, the source of a dental bone graft material may be considered undesirable or even offensive to a patient due to ethical, cultural, or religious concerns. Bone graft material may come from one of four sources:

Autograft: Your Own Bone

Patients wanting to use their own bone material incur some degree of increased risk simply because there are two surgical sites involved. A surgeon harvests your bone material from your hip bone, shin bone, portions of your jaw, or some other area. By using your own bone material, you reduce the risk of your body rejecting the bone graft. However, a second surgery is necessary, increasing the chance for infection/morbidity, pain, or visible scarring (depending on the donor site).

Allograft: Human Cadaver Bone

This material is procured from a donor bank. The risk of infectious disease transmission is the same as if you received blood from a blood bank. Because cadaver bone grafts are considered “transplant tissues”, they are not evaluated for safety and effectiveness by the FDA. As mentioned earlier, no long-term studies have been published on the success rates of implants placed into a socket where a cadaver bone graft was used. In clinical studies, allograft particles have not been found to resorb in the body. When the allograft mineralizes, it produces what is called sclerotic bone, or abnormally hardened bone. The sclerotic bone does not integrate to the surface of implant. The bone graft site does not remodel and never becomes normal bone.

In a study that surveyed 100 people who were asked about accepting or refusing certain types of graft material, allografts elicited the highest rate of refusal with 41% rejecting it under any circumstance or accepting it only as a last resort when no other option is presented. A common reason for refusal was religious objection.

Xenograft: Animal Bone

Xenograft are bone grafts taken from a species other than human, such as cows or pigs, and are more easily sourced than Allografts. While this material is sterilized, there is always the risk of transmitting disease or cross-contamination with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease) or porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs). There is no way to adequately screen xenografts for those viruses to determine their presence.

Common reasons for refusal of xenografts include ethical implications or religious concerns. Xenografts do not stimulate your body’s cells to form bone and portions of the graft material may remain in your body, never to resorb.

Alloplast: Synthetic Bone Material

These grafts are made of minerals that naturally exist in human bone. Patients typically prefer this type of bone graft because synthetics do not represent any ethical problem, elicit no religious objections, or imply the use of animals. The safety of not posing any risk in terms of disease transmission or involving a second complicated surgery is also highly valued.

SteinerBio dental bone grafts are synthetic grafts that have been cleared by the FDA and do not contain human or animal products. There is no risk of transmitted diseases with our material. Our synthetic grafts are fully resorbed and completely replaced by your own healthy, normal bone.

Generally, candidates for dental bone graft procedures include people who have periodontal disease or loss of density and bone matter of the jawbone. Trauma to the mouth, gums, or teeth is yet another factor that contributes to the need for a dental bone graft. Dental bone loss may occur in cancer survivors due to the effects of chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment. However, the largest group of candidates for dental bone grafts are people who have lost one or more teeth.

Bone density is essential to the normal functions performed by your jawbone. Bone density may be significantly affected by the loss of a tooth. Some patients no longer have the jawbone structure necessary to support an implant. When the jawbone dimensions and bone density are inadequate, a dental bone graft may be used to ensure a successful implant.

Modern dental implants have been in use since the 1970s. They were typically used in those who had lost multiple teeth and who had great difficulty stabilizing or tolerating dentures. Bone grafts were not typically associated with dentistry as they were mostly performed elsewhere in the body by an orthopedic surgeon in a hospital setting. Over time, traditionalism has led to cadaver bone to be the accepted standard for dental bone grafting. Unfortunately, no long-term studies have been published on the success rates of implants placed into a socket where a cadaver bone graft was used.

Ideally, your dentist may use a dental bone graft in conjunction with the initial tooth extraction. Doing so ensures proper alignment for your teeth. Additionally, the dental bone graft can help to retain your jawbone’s existing dimensions.