Bone Grafting and Membranes
Bone grafting can be used in medical/dental procedures, such as , tooth extractions, dental implant placement, facial trauma treatment and reconstructive surgery of the mouth, face and jaws. The goal of bone grafting is to provide good quantity and quality of bone at the desired site for proper form and function.
Bone grafting to facilitate dental implant therapy enables patients to improve their capacity for ore effective chewing and also can improve appearance when visible missing teeth affects a patient’s ability to speak normally.
What is a Bone Graft?
A bone graft is bone taken from the patient, donor (human or animal) or manufactured from synthetic materials. The bone graft can directly replace missing bone or provide a scaffolding on which the patient’s own bone can grow. While bone can come from a donor bank, it is often taken directly from the patient.
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon (OMS) is an expert in bone reconstruction and will help you make the best decision about what kind of bone to use and best to use it.
These definitions will help when discussing your options with your surgeon:
- Alloplastic/Allograft refers to use of human donated tissues. Care is taken to screen the donors for diseases and to treat the bone with chemicals and/or radiation to minimize the risk of disease transfer.
- Xenoplastic/Xenograft refers to the use of animal tissues to be used to replace missing human tissues. Care is taken to screen the door animals for diseases and to treat the bone with chemicals and/or radiation to minimize the risk of disease transfer.
- Autogenous/Autograft refers to the transfer of patient tissues from one location of the body to another within the same person. the Advantage is that there is no extra cost associated with the purchased materials and that there is not a disease transmission risk. The disadvantage is there is a separate graft harvest site in addition to the surgical site.
- Synthetic graft materials are human engineered products that mimic tissues as closely as possible to promote tissue growth and regeneration. The advantage is there is less cost and no risk of disease transmission from a donor. A disadvantage may be less predictable growth of tissues around and into these synthetic materials.
- Bone Morphogenetic Protein, also known as BMP, is a chemical that has been engineered to help stimulate patients’ tissues to grow spontaneously. The advantage is a donor site is not needed.
Membranes
Our doctors may discuss the use of membranes to help guide and promote healing. Often, membranes serve a role in protecting grafts by preventing unwanted tissues from growing into the area of bone healing. Membranes can be resorbable, non-resorbable, synthetic or biologic in nature. Some are rigid, and some are soft and pliable.
Resorbable membranes dissolve in the body over time. Most resorbable membranes are made of collagen products and are xenoplastic (from animals). Non-resorbable membranes do not dissolve and generally need to be removed after an appropriate amount of time.
Some synthetic membranes are made out of Gore-Tex (PTFE) polytetrafluoroethylene and may also have a moldable titanium layer within it to provide rigidity for providing shape to the graft.
Biological membranes may come from products derived from your blood after being placed into centrifuges to collect blood components that promote healing. They may mention platelet rich plasma (PRP) of concentrated growth factors (CGF). Some blood components are mixed with grafting materials to create autologous fibrin glue (AFG).
More complicated defects may require advanced bone grafting techniques. Our doctors may offer to use titanium mesh or other materials in order to shape and protect your grafting site or sites. Ask you surgeon for more details about the products he or she uses and the rationale for using them.
What is PRP and Their Role in Healing?
What is Platelet-rich Plasma?
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a substance made from the patient’s own blood that can be used in oral and maxillofacial surgery. PRP contains high concentrations of platelets — tiny cells that help blood clot and contain growth factors.
To obtain platelet-rich plasma, a small amount of blood is taken from the patient’s arm, just like a normal blood test. the blood sample is then processed to separate platelets from other blood components to create PRP.
PRP can be applied directly to the surgical site or mixed with bone graft material to speed up the healing process.
What are the benefits of using PRP?
- Can improve healing: PRP contain growth factors that promote tissue regeneration and accelerate the healing process. They stimulate the body’s natural repair mechanisms, leading to faster, more efficient healing.
- Can reduce risk of complications: Using PRP, we can reduce the risk of infection and other complications. Their antibacterial properties create an environment conducive to healing and help prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.
- Can create better patient outcomes: By using PRP, we can improve surgical success and predictability. These biomaterials support the body’s ability to heal and contribute to better treatment outcomes.
Whether PRP or other biological materials are recommended in oral and maxillofacial surgery depends on the specific procedure and the patient’s needs. Decisions regarding the use of these materials are made in consultation based on the individual case.
Bone Graft Healing Process
The specifics of bone graft healing will vary from procedure to procedure and patient to patient depending on the donor site (where the bone is taken from), the recipient site (where the bone is paced) and the patient’s overall health status. We provide specific guidelines for what to expect after surgery, provide postoperative care instructions as well as schedule a follow-up visit to evaluate your healing progress as needed.