A bone graft is a surgical procedure that replaces missing bone with material from the patients own body, an artificial, synthetic, or natural substitute. Here are some key points about bone grafting:
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What is bone grafting? Bone grafting is a surgical procedure that promotes the body's natural bone-making process by applying substances to gaps in weak, broken, or deficient bones for added support. It can be used to repair bones almost anywhere in the body.
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Types of bone grafts: There are several types of bone grafts, including autografts (taken from the patient's own body), allografts (taken from a human tissue bank), xenografts (taken from an animal tissue bank), and synthetic grafts (made from synthetic materials) .
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Why is bone grafting done? Bone grafting may be necessary if bones don't heal correctly after a fracture, or if there is bone loss or deterioration due to missing teeth or other conditions. It can also be used to fuse joints to prevent movement, repair broken bones that have bone loss, and repair injured bone that has not healed.
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How does bone grafting work? Once the bone graft has been placed, it holds space for the body to do the repair work. In other words, a bone graft is like a scaffold on which the body's own bone tissue can grow and regenerate.
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Risks: Risks of bone grafting include infection, bleeding, nerve damage, and rejection of the graft material.
Bone grafting is commonly used in dentistry to add volume and density to the jawbone in areas where bone loss has occurred. This can be done using autogenous, allogenic, or synthetic bone grafts.
