Dentalnews (en)

Using donor bones for bone reconstruction?

When a patient has gone without teeth for a long time or suffered from bouts of inflammation, the part of the upper and lower jaw-bones which support teeth has often been found to recede, leading to a diagnosis of „alveolar atrophy“.

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Dental implants can no longer be inserted into the bone which is left, as this may cause damage to nerves and sinuses. The only solution is bone reconstruction, using either bone from the patient’s own body, or other materials.

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Using bone from other places in the patient’s body involves performing additional operations, which is why many doctors prefer using other materials. As you may have read in the various articles we have written on the subject of „Bone reconstruction“ human bone heals much better than artificial products.
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But where can you get human bone?

Human bone – or tissue in general – is taken either from corpses or is a by-product left over after operations (e.g. a fracture of the neck of the femur). There are strict laws in place for regulating and monitoring the removal of tissue and bone. For example, doctors cannot just take products left over after an operation without the consent of the patient, as legally this is still the „property“ of the patient.

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Each country has its own laws with regard to corpses. Many countries have a donor database, in which people who want to donate have to sign up while they are still alive, so that organs and tissue can be legally removed after they die.
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Other countries (such as Austria), take the opposite tack. They keep a list of objectors, meaning that organs and tissue can be removed from just about anybody after their death, who did NOT put their name on this list while they were alive

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Although this may seem somewhat macabre to you, it should be obvious that this makes for a lot more organs and tissue and human life saved by organ transplants or ailments alleviated by tissue transplants. It should also be pointed out that these „removals“ may only be performed by institutions registered with and monitored by the government!
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Whatever option appeals to you more from an ethical point of view, biological material shows much better results than does artificial material.
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So what’s your opinion on using human bone?

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