Description

Dental bone grafting plays an important role where structural or functional support is necessary. Grafts are used to provide a scaffold for bone regeneration, augment bony defects resulting from trauma or surgery, restore bone loss resulting from dental disease, fill extraction sites to preserve the height and width of the alveolar ridge, and augment and reconstruct the alveolar ridge. From purely a bone growth perspective, autogenous bone remains the best grafting material because of its osteogenic properties, which allow bone to form more rapidly and in conditions where significant bone augmentation or repair is required. The primary allografts, alloplasts, and xenografts used for the restoration of osseous defects and promotion of periodontal attach ment are freeze-dried bone allograft (FDBA), demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft (DFDBA), hydroxyapatite (HA), bioactive glasses, tricalcium phosphate (TCP) particulates, and purified inorganic bone. These graft materials have been used to rebuild bone, although few appear to encourage regeneration of the connective tissue ligament to any large extent.