What is the best type of bone to use in reconstruction?
If parodontitis goes untreated for a long time, or teeth are lost and not replaced, then bone starts to recede. And once it is time for a dental implant, there may not be enough bone matter available to support the implant.
Fortunately, there are various materials available to reconstruct bone, but which one of them is the best?
A rule of thumb is that the more similar replacement bone is to human bone, the better it heals. The best bone to use is the patient’s own – as long as the chunk of bone used does not exceed a specific size – you can find out more on that here.
From a certain size onwards it is better to use purified replacement bone, ideally human bone, or animal bone, for example from cattle. Bone substitutes can also be produced, e.g. from algae. Synthetic bone takes the longest to heal, although research is still being done on the subject.
It does not help to infuse bone from a donor with your own cells.
It is much more effective to mix replacement bone with your own blood – this is usually enough, and facilitates absorption during an operation, but it is unclear whether it helps healing.
There are many studies on this topic, but they are often poorly structured and do not observe evidence-based medical guidelines. Moreover, many of the materials used to replace bone are distributed by doctors themselves, and they all have their favorites, so it is hard to remain objective!
