What different bone graft materials are there for dental implants?

During the preliminary work up and planning phase of your implant surgery your surgeon may discuss with you the need to use bone graft material. This might be because you don’t have sufficient bone volume in the proposed site to support an implant and require augmentation or you may be having an immediate implant post an extraction which requires bone grafting to help with the healing of the socket.

There are 4 different types of bone graft material:

1. Autogenous bone – this is your bone harvested from either the implant site or another site in the mouth. This is the best option but is often impractical or unpleasant because it requires a second surgical site.
2. Autograft bone – this is bone from another human. This bone is sourced from a cadaver and specially treated to remove any genetic material or pathogens. This bone graft acts like a scaffold and is fully turned over into your bone within 4 months
3. Xenograft bone – this is bone that comes from another species. Usually bovine or porcine. It has been specially treated to remove any genetic material or pathogens. This turns over slower, usually between 6 and 9 months.
4. Synthetic bone – there are a range of synthetic bone grafts on the market. They exhibit the slowest turn over time into native bone and are considered to be inferior to other options.

All of your options have distinct pros and cons. Here at Mosman Dental surgery we are a team of experienced dental implantologists and we encourage patient education and open active discussion of all of your options regarding grafting.